Journey of the Heart
by Dodo-chan
Summary: ItaxSas Vamp fic. Sasuke: A runaway, hates vamps. Itachi: Vamp lord. What will happen when Sasuke becomes Itachi's slave? Can the vampire fall in love with someone who's face he's never seen? And can Sasuke accept the vampire? slight violence. !YAOI!
1. Prologue

HELLO to anyone who didn't read the first version of this, and hello to anyone who's re-reading the re-written version, i.e. this one. FYI, I didn't change anything about the plot, I just changed a bit of the phrasing, and added a bit more explanation.

Oh and I disclaim…yeah.

Well, lets get started.

'_Mental thoughts'_

Journey of the heart

Prologue

"Sasuke-kun! Where are you! We have to leave, quickly, their coming!" A pink haired girl shouted, desperately looking for her friend.

"What, already? Their to early! Sasuke-teme, hurry up, or you'll be sucked dry by a vamp! We have to get the fuck outta here!" Naruto shouted desperately, not noticing that his friend was already standing next to Sakura at the edge of the forest.

"If you would stop shouting you would have noticed that I'm already there dobe. Now lets go."

Leaving the hastily cleared camp behind the three teens ran into the woods. Moments later the sound of galloping hooves and the shouting of voices could be heard behind them. Sasuke looked over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of the captured humans trudging down the road in a single file line. '_That was a close one._' They would have to be more careful, the vampires seemed to have taken some kind of short cut instead of their normal route along the main raod, not good. A shiver ran down his spine, he didn't want to think about what would happen to them if they were caught. If they were lucky, a nice vampire would buy them as a companion or lover, if they weren't they would be some Lord's snack.

The vampires had taken over the rule of the continent 50 years ago after the Great War. For the most part they weren't that different from humans, some were kind-hearted, some cruel, it didn't really make that much of a difference who ruled, the vampires or someone else. Of course being vamps, they had an affinity for causing pain, and of course, they drank blood. Though their rule wasn't friendly or peaceful, neither was it cruel, the world had become one where Darwin's Law 'Survival of the fittest' took hold.

Of course Sasuke and his friends didn't believe this, they hated vampires with a passion, to them they were all the same, evil, blood sucking, creatures. At the top of their hate list were the High Lord Orochimaru, and his heir Lord Itachi, the rulers of the continent. Their word was law, and neither of them was known for their kindness. Although they were the ultimate power within the hierarchy, they ruled together with a council, made up of representatives of each region of the continent, unbeknownst to Sasuke and his friends, this council was not made up only by vampires, but humans too. At the very bottom of the food chain were the run-aways like Sasuke, who lived in hiding and refused to acknowledge the vampire's rule.

Sasuke had been a run-away all his life, his parents had been as well and he had been born in a small cave in the mountains somewhere. But they had been killed by the royal guard that hunted down the run-aways. They had left the 8 year old Sasuke with Sakura's family who had also adopted Naruto, but they were caught 5 years ago, on Sakura's 11th birthday. The three had survived on their own ever since.

Sasuke's stomach growled, the stupid guard was making it harder and harder to find food, and they kept appearing in places and at times they weren't supposed to.

"Sakura, how long till the next village?" Sasuke asked, when his stomach growled again.

"Another hour or so-_Sasuke_! Be careful, your hood is slipping! We'll have to get you a new one soon, if anyone sees you, you'll be on the slave marked before you can say _gotcha_!

"…"

"She's right you know, I'm sorry to say this but you are bloody gorgeous…that was not meant as a compliment."

"It wasn't taken as one, firstly I would rather have Lord Itachi call me good looking than you, secondly I'd rather be ugly and fat, I don't like being called _pretty_."

"Sasuke-teme, you were cute with six, with 12 you were _pretty, _and now you're, just damn hot! There is no other word for it, you'll have to accept it. If they catch you, you can kiss your innocence good bye! They'll pounce on you like dogs in a heat, no amount of dirt and rags can hide it Sasuke-teme, live with it."

"Dobe, shut up, you're rambling. There's the village, don't shout out our whole life story for anyone who happens to be passing by, we don't want attention."

"Oh, you already have that."

The three spun around and stared right into the faces of the guard from before.

"Now what are three little humans like you, doing alone in these woods?

You stink so bad I could smell you 5km down the road, metaphorically and literally."

"Oh fuck." Was all Sasuke brought out.

"That about sums it up, but I hope you didn't mean that literally, because I don't think I want to fuck any of you filthy run-aways." The vampire sneered, exposing 2 sharp white fangs. Sasuke clenched his fists, he had to make sure Naruto and Sakura got away. They were the only family he had and he damn hell wouldn't let them be enslaved by some bad ass vampire!

"Sakura, Naruto, when I say so, run." Sasuke hissed to them.

"What? No way, we're not leaving you here! You can't beat them alone!" Naruto nearly screamed.

"We cant, together either, and even if we did, then we would be wanted criminals, no, run when I tell you to, I don't intend to fight these guys."

"You don't? … oh no, Sasuke you cant! Didn't you listen to what Naruto just said!"

Tears welled up in her eyes, she knew they had no other choice, he had made up his mind.

"We'll come and save you. I promise." Naruto's voice was desperate but didn't quaver.

"Look after Sakura."

"I will." Naruto nodded, his eyes determind.

Sasuke reached for his hood. The head of the guard watched ready for anything the human would do. That exchange had been rather strange, he wasn't taking any chances.

"Be careful what you do human, I'm warning you."

"What are you warning me about?" Sasuke asked innocently.

"Naruto grabbed Sakura's hand and the two snuck right past the vampires without anyone noticing, Sasuke really was sneeky. As soon as they had disappeared out of sight Sasuke turned and ran into the other direction. Despite what he had said to the others, he was going to fight, he knew he didn't have a chance, but it was the only way to give the others time to get away. He wasn't going to give up without trying! The vampires blinked, startled by his sudden disappearance, but then with angry cries rode after him, on their big black stallions. (Ooh I just couldn't resist the cliché!)

It didn't take them long to catch up to him, but Sasuke had learned al his life how to fight against vampires, no one survived long here if you didn't. And adding that they were try to harm him as little as possible, so he was still worth something on the market…

By the time he'd been shackled and tied to a horse, there were a lot of broken bones and bloody noses. Not to mention the unconscious bodies lying randomly around on the ground. They might not die easily, but that didn't mean they couldn't be knocked out.

"Get that hood of him, I want to see what we're selling! Those other humans seemed rather panicked about you taking it of. Had us nicely distracted didn't you." The vampire was sneering again, but this time a nice black eye decorated his face, rather destroying the scare factor.

"I don't think you want to see my face. It's deformed."

The vampire grimaced in disgust. "Oh, thought we'd all be so revolted by your face we'd faint? Very clever. Well if your so ugly, make sure you keep that thing on and maybe I'll still get a decent price, your strong enough."

( AN: I just wanted to say that in this fic. Vamps really are very sensitive to looks, they might actually really faint if they see a human that is too ugly, at least, the weaker ones, such as this one obviously is…)

Sasuke watched the village they had been previously heading for draw closer and hoped that once there, he'd find a chance to escape. But all his hopes were dashed when, instead of turning left into the village the slave caravan stayed on the main road. Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief at his bad luck, this was the one road no run-away ever ventured down.

"That's the road to the capital! That's where the palace is! You can't take me there!" He screamed in despair.

"Why not? You're going to the yearly slave auction, and till we get there, you aren't getting anything to eat as a punishment for being such a bad boy."

Sasuke's eyes widened, the capital was very far away, they'd always made sure of that. He could only hope he'd make it till then. He scowled, this just proved what assholes vampires were.

"Think about that, next time you disobey a vampire, because of you half my troops' disabled."

Three days later another group of run-aways was added to the merry round of travellers. The chains around Sasuke's wrists and ankles were heavy and left dark bruises and bloody patches of skin underneath them, making it painful to move, so when they made camp for the evening Sasuke didn't even attempt to get of the horse, even though he was no longer shackled to it. Everything hurt, pain and thirst over riding anything else. He was about to fall back into the half unconsciousness he'd been in since the 2nd day, when a voice pierced through the pain induced fog.

"Hey, you, why are you the only one who gets to ride? Are you something special or what? Don't look it."

"…"

"Hey, you dead? Answer."

"…"

"…Is that blood?… It is! Fuck! What did they do to you? No wonder you aren't moving, I wouldn't be in your position either! Oh, and by the way, I'm Neji…If you can hear me…"

Ok, I'll end it here. Would this be considered a cliffy? I'm not sure, but I'm ending it here anyways so…yeah. What d'you think? Ii hope I didn't disappoint you, it'll get better, but I sorta had to introduce the basic background stuff first! Please just bare with me here!

See ya next time…if you like it please tell me and I'll hurry up typing the next chapter…


	2. Sold

OMG! How time flies! Sorry it took me so long, I'm really lagging…anyways, thanks sooo much for all the reviews! 23 reviews for one chapter…that is most definitely my personal record, well actually it's my reviewers record, so thank you again!

* * *

Last chapter: "Oh, and by the way, I'm Neji…if you can hear me…"

Sold

Sasuke stared at the boy; he was very hansom, with long silky black hair and mysterious, white, pupil less eyes. He nearly screamed when Neji lifted him of the horse and slowly lowered him onto the ground. "They told me to check if you were still alive, grinning like mad every single one of them. I don't think they like you much."

He looked around suspiciously, then pulled out a flask and held it to Sasuke's parched lips beneath the shadow of the hood.

"Here, I smuggled some water, I haven't seen you drink, or eat for the matter. Gad damned vampires."

"Thank you."

Neji started when he heard Sasuke's voice, then smiled. "Better now?"

Then slowly he reached over, pulled of the hood and gasped. "Holy shit!"

Suddenly a vampire appeared in the corner of the camp where the two were talking.

"What's taking you so long slave? The captains board, he wants you in his tent."

"Yes, of course, I'll be right there!"

Neji jumped in front of Sasuke shielding his face. He waited till the vampire had disappeared and then turned back around to Sasuke.

"No wonder you always wear that hood, they haven't seen your face yet have they."

"No. You saved me; I'm Sasuke, nice to meet you. You're the kid who punched that vampire when he grabbed that red heads ass, is he your boy friend, you don't look much like brothers."

Neji turned a very bright shade of red. "He's _not_ my boy friend! I promised to protect him; I've known Gaara his whole life! He might not be my brother by blood, but he just as well could be, he's all I have left! He's the only thing between me and madness, I don't know what I'd do without him."

_Brother my ass. If he isn't in love with him I'll kiss the high and mighty lord Itachi!_

"I have to go now, I'll come back tomorrow, maybe I can get you some food."

"Thanks, be careful, it's not often you meet someone decent here, I don't want you to die."

"Yeah, your right, I don't want to come back here tomorrow to find a dead body."

"You wont, I've survived worse. Now get outta here."

_To bad he's already taken._

2 days later they reached the city. Without Neji, Sasuke wouldn't have made it, no matter what he said. And even so, he was extremely weak. But he didn't show it, he sat upright on the horse and pretended not to notice the blood dripping of his arms and legs. The hood hung low over his face. Neji and Gaara walked beside him. People made way for the royal guard, humans bustled around the market place and vampires stood in small groups talking. Some even included humans in their conversations, slowly but surely the two cultures were merging, coming to accept each other. But it would never be the same again.

The big stage loomed up in front of them. At least 100 slaves were already there, connected through one long chain.

"Get of the horse boy, I don't intend to sell him with you."

Sasuke glared at the vampire and petted the black stallion one last time, he had gotten rather attached to him, it was a nice horse, very intelligent. He dismounted and trudged toward the stage, every muscle in his body protested but he refused to let anyone see his weakness, so he squared his shoulders and carried the heavy chains as if they weighed nothing. Neji and Gaara ended up next to him, Neji glaring at anyone who came to close to his crush… I mean charge. Sasuke was glad for the company. They were all given a colored band that indicated their price. To Sasuke's surprise none of the vampires entered jet, it seemed as if they were waiting for something. But when a black carriage, pulled by 7 coal black horses, came charging down the road toward them, Sasuke understood.

_Oh no. _He nervously pulled the hood lower over his face, that was lord Itachi's carriage, _Seems like_ _he gets first pick._

Sasuke desperately hoped he wouldn't be noticed by the lord, he was not known for his kindness. The door opened and a black clad figure stepped out, he had long black hair with a purple tint, eyes like blood and skin that looked more like marble that skin, he looked about 18, a gorgeous 18 year old, but the cold expression made him look dark and very scary.

He walked, well more like glided down the line, inspecting the slaves, sometimes stopping to inquire further, but he didn't buy anyone, yet, but his face lit up when he saw Neji. "Now here we have some potential. What's your name?"

"Neji, my lord."

"And who is the boy, who's hand you are so desperately holding?"

"Gaara my lord, I'm not leaving him, if you buy me, you buy him too."

"Protective aren't we. But I like you, proud and sharp, you can keep your little friend, I'll take both of you."

Itachi's eyes traveled down the rest of the line and back up again, coming to a stop on Sasuke.

"Cyrit, why is that slave wearing a hood?"

"He is disfigured my lord."

"Rather expensive for a cripple."

"He's extremely strong, took out half the guard before I got there and subdued him."

Sasuke snorted, that was a down right lie.

"What are you laughing about slave?" Cyrit shouted at Sasuke, sending him a glare that Sasuke supposed was meant to look dangerous.

"That is bullshit, you were the first to go down."

"What, how dare you, you bastard, I'll kill you, you little lying mutt!"

He was about to lunge at Sasuke, when Itachi suddenly interrupted. "Say Cyrit, where did you get that dreadful black eye from?"

"Wha, oh, um...that was…"

"Wha, oh, um...that was…" Sasuke mimicked the stuttering tone.

Itachi smirked, it wasn't often you saw a human mocking a vampire, that kid had guts.

"I like you, what's your name."

"Sasuke, great vocabulary by the way, how you repeat yourself like that."

No respect what so ever, he didn't even add a my lord or something, very amusing indeed. Long time since I met humans with some spirit left in them, this is going to be fun.

"Well then you three, come along, we're leaving."

"Uh, m,m My lord, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but the, um, money?"

"Cyrit, you should be happy you're still alive, do you really think I will reward a liar? Be grateful, I'm in a good mood, or your stolen blood would be decorating the floor."

After being released from the connecting chain the three followed Itachi down to the carriage. Sasuke swayed, he felt dizzy and sick, he couldn't see clearly, his whole body ached, he was reaching the end of his powers. Suddenly Itachi stopped. "I totally forgot to take of those extra chains, come here, they must be uncomfortable..."

Itachi stopped in mid sentence and sniffed the air, it smelled strongly of blood, he had ignored it up till now, thinking it came from on of the pleasure houses, but his new slave most definitely smelled very much of blood, he whirled around and stared at Sasuke, blood was seeping from beneath his sleeves, drenching his already filthy clothes.

"CYRIT! What did you do to him?"

"…"

Itachi's voice dropped to a deadly whisper. "Answer me Cyrit."

"We, we shakled him to a horse, he got no food or drink."

"And why? Because he damaged your petty pride? You fool."

Sasuke watched the exchange in amazement, through a haze of pain, he blinked and suddenly Cyrit was lying on the floor, writhing in pain, Itachi hadn't moved. The last thing Sasuke saw was Itachi's blood red gaze on him, them he collapsed.

_(Should I end it here? Nah, just a bit more. Nearly finished.)_

XxxxxXxxxxxxxxXxxxxxX

Itachi caught the boy before he hit the floor, but nearly dropped him again in shock when he felt the bones from his ribcage.

That kid is definitely is very strong, its amazing he was able to stand, let alone walk. It had probably been days since he had last eaten anything.

"Do you know when he last ate anything?"

"Yes my lord, I smuggled some bread for him the day before yesterday, but it wasn't a lot, and he nearly threw it all back up again. He said he'd been with the guard for three days when I met him."

Itachi fumed, how could anyone be this stupid! The boy hadn't eaten anything for a week.

Itachi wasn't a nice person, he had a bad temper and was very hard to get along with, but he did look after his people. Sometimes vampires tended to forget that humans could not live without eating for weeks. But he had the feeling that Cyrit hadn't forgotten, he belonged to those vampires who believed humans were inferior beings, which in Itachi's mind was total crap. Cyrit most definitely belong to those who took pleasure from torturing humans. Itachi grinned, he probably hadn't gotten much from Sasuke, the boy stubbornly refused to show any weakness, he had stood up right till the very end. It looked as if he had just dropped from one second to the next.

Sasuke, he would most definitely remember that name, to bad he was disfigured, if he had as much energy in bed as in life, he would be great. Well the black haired kid was exceptionally good looking, but it was obvious he loved that red haired kid and that was always a bit awkward. Itachi sighed, life really was horrid sometimes, oh well. He picked Sasuke up and, he was extremely light, Itachi growled, making Neji and Gaara flinch.

The rest of the ride went by quietly, Itachi's good mood was gone, he didn't let go of Sasuke. He felt responsible for him, and a little possessive, no one was taking away his new toy. The castle appeared before them, with it's black walls statues. Sasuke stirred in Itachi's arms and underneath the hood he smiled, for the first time in his life, he felt totally safe, unconsciously he moved closer to the nice warm feeling.

Itachi looked down at the sleeping boy, and despite knowing he was deformed, Sasuke's body gave him a peculiar longing. The hood had moved a bit, revealing a thin white chin and full, yet pale lips that were cracked and bleeding.

"Neji, you never told me what his deformation is."

"I don't know my lord, I have never seen his face."

"Hm…" _Cyrit! _

_…Y, yes my lord? _

_How deformed is he? _

_…I, I, I don't know my lord. I never looked. He said he was deformed. Why should he lie? _

_Cyrit, I am beginning to think you aren't taking your job seriously enough. One more slip and you can prepare yourself for a lot of pain. _

_Y, Yes, my lord. _

Itachi broke the mental contact, he felt slightly sick, Cyrit did not have a nice mind, it had a foul, rotting feeling.

…No one had seen Sasuke's face, he was being awfully careful, either he was very, very, very ugly, or he was hiding something. Itachi couldn't fathom what that might be, but just because he couldn't think of it, didn't mean it didn't exist.

_Well, time to lift the mystery._

* * *

The End!…of this chapter. What do you think. Not boring? Is Itachi going to see Sasuke's face? Dun, dun, dun, Duh! R&R and thou shallt find out! See ya next time! 


	3. Plans

Um…(creeps into view with a pillow on head)…I was hibernating?

I had some problems deciding where to go with this, because I have some different ideas, so don't be surprised when I start having votes on what to do, just be good and help me.

* * *

_Thinking/mental conversation_

Last chapter: _Well, time to lift the mystery._

Close Calls

_Itachi?_ The lord nearly fell out of his seat. Orochimaru had the worst timing!

_Orochimaru? What do you want?_

_I have decided something._

…_And?_

_I want you to bond._

…_repeat that please, I must have misunderstood you._

_I want you to take a mate, partner, companion, lo…_

_I get it! But why? There is no way in hell, I am doing that!_

_Itachi, you're a good vampire, and that's what I want you to stay. Power can be very addicting, and maybe when you take over the throne…_

_Are you trying to say you're scared I might turn into some power hungry tyrant?_

_Well, yes, I actually am. I'm not saying you will, but a mate will stop you from it if you're tempted. You share your power with them, plus who ever your mate turns out to be, will hammer some sense into you. _

_I'm sure. And this just popped into your head?_

_Yes, I was reading the biography of president Bush._

_Oh, well that explains it. When do you expect me to get a mate?_

…_What! No temper tantrum, no anger fit where you destroy everything within a 20-mile radius? I'm amazed. _

_So that's why your telling me now, while I'm still far away from you, how sneakily cowardly. But no, I think that your quite right, noone is not susceptible to the influence of power, it has made dictators of the best of men, vampire and human alike. Anyways, i think it would be nice to settle down._

_I wont rush you, but the sooner the better._

_Hm, ok, I'll start looking I guess._

During the conversation Itachi idly stroked Sasuke's hair, twirling the soft strands around his fingers. They had a soothing effect; it was nice, so soft and silky…

Sasuke stirred and opened his eyes, he had a headache, but someone was stroking his head, long fingers running through his hair, it felt really good, he just wanted to lye there...he looked up. _Oh shit_.

He was lying on Itachi's lap, who was looking out of the window lost in thought.

_OMG! He hasn't noticed yet? What do I do?_

Then_…I'm lying on the future high lords lap…EWW!_

Sasuke jumped out of the vampire's arms, loosing a bushel of hair in the process.

Quickly he pulled the hood back over his face. Itachi sprung up in confusion, ready to attack. Hestared at Sasuke who was now standing in the opposite corner of the carriage, his back plastered against the wall, with the ugly grey hood hanging over his face. Then Itachi noticed thatthere wasa bushel of silky black hair in his hand.

_This isn't mine,which means it must beSasuke's, but. His hood wasn'ton! And I didn't notice! Stupid Orochimaru for distracting me! …that was a rather strange reaction though…_

"Why was I lying in your lap!"

_What? Oh, that's why…_

"Why shouldn't you be lying in my lap? You are mine, I can do what ever I want with you."

"I'm not yours! I belong to no one, you can't do what you want with me, I would rather die!"

"Calm down, I guess your not mine in soul, but your body is, and you can't change that." Itachi answered calmly. It seemed, no matter what Sasuke did he had a calming effect on the vampire.

Itachi looked out of the window, where a dark castle came into view. "Come, we're there."

Neji and Gaara got up and followed Itachi, both grinning, that exchange had been hilarious. Sasuke on the other hand, was fuming._ Damn that Itachi!_

"Come on, or do you want me to carry you?…Oh, I'm sorry, you probably do."

The smirk on Itachi's face died, the kid was in pain, he could smell it, those fast movements must have hurt. He sighed and walked back to Sasuke, who was now tilting dangerously.

"You really are dumb, aren't you?"

Itachi picked up the swaying human who let out a half hearted protest, but winced and then grudgingly let the vampire carry him. Itachi could smell the blood, it was intoxicating, he could feel his fangs lengthening and licked his lips, Sasuke's blood smell divine, no wonder his black mood had disappeared as soon as he got near him, it had been a long time since he had had as much fun as now. He had had trouble remembering that the boy was supposed to be injured because he was so stubornely refusing to let it show, but he was having even more trouble remembering Sasuke was supposed to be deformed…when he had arrived at the auction he had been looking for some brainless pretty boy to fuck and then kill, to let out some frustration because of the incompetence of the council. They had nearly managed to pass a law that would have allowed any vampire to make a human breeding station! Not only was it extremely cruel and stupid, it was ignorant, those fools! The more humans there were, the more likely they would revolt! He made sure never to kill anyone intelligent, since they did much more good alive than dead, and for the most partthe councilwere all intelligent, but then he had been very tempted.

Sasuke winced when Itachi's grip tightened painfully, his long, claw-like fingernails digging into Sasuke's sides. "Oy! Snap out of it, your rather strong you know!"

Itachi looked down at Sasuke, he was shaking. _Damn._ Itachi thought, now the kid was bleeding even more.

"What?"

"Nothing." _Did I say that out loud?_ Itachi took a deep breath, relishing the smell of Sasuke's blood, calming immediately.

"Why do you keep sniffing me? I don't think I smell very good right now, I haven't washed for ages."

_You smell heavenly…_

Sasuke looked at him strangely, but didn't say anything. he thought Itachi had said somehting...

"I'm taking you to Tsunade, she's the head medic of the castle, you have a week to recuperate before you start work. You'll work under Hatake Kakashi with Neji and his little love."

"Everyone notices except for them." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Rather funny, don't you think."

"I can't wait to see how long it takes them. They remind me so much of Naruto and Saku…"Sasuke's face froze. "Never mind."

Itachi pretended not to have heard Sasuke's slip. "Tell me when they do, that's my first order to you."

"I already told you, I don't take orders."

"And I already told you that I don't give a damn."

"I'd rather die."

"I can fraise all my orders as requests if you like."

"…"

"Good, now that's settled, get well quickly, I like you, maybe I'll come visit."

"Please don't."

"Now I definitely will."

"I hate you."

"Now, now don't get rude, I did save your life after all." At that Sasuke lowered his head.

"…Thank you, for that." He kept his gaze down, he didn't want to see his new _masters_ horrible grin.

"I might not be the nicest person there is, but I will not have anyone call me unjust. Humans are worth no less than we are, but they are corrupt. Your race would have destroyed itself and us along with it, if we hadn't intervened."

"Why are you telling me that? You may have saved my life, but did you even think about the others? I will always hate you, not because you're vampires but because of what you did. You killed my family and separated me from my friends, you kill humans for fun and you enslave us, you can not believe I would ever forgive you for that."

"I don't, I am merely asking you to accept it and think about what I said. I mean you no harm."

"Hrmph."

"Humans make strange noises."

"So do vampires."

"We all have our quirks."

"I guess we do."

"OMG! You r having a civilized conversation! Itachi, what happened? Last time I saw you, you were about to create a massacre!…What smells so good?"

Sasuke stared at the female vampire before him, she had long blond hair, tied in two tails down her back, a strange green mark on her forehead and the biggest boobshe'd ever seen.

Tsunade surveyed the scene with a critical eye, taking in the blood dripping from various parts of the humans body, the hood over his face…but on the inside she was laughing her head of. Itachi, standing there, talking to a human with the most wonderful smell, who was lying in his arms. Andnot only didn't the human seem in the least scared of him, which was definitely a first, no, he was actually insulting, making fun of andbeing rudein Itachi's face, it was hilarious. But what really shocked her, was that Itachi wasn't doing anything, he didn't touch him in a perverted way, nor did he seem to take offence from the behavior like he should have. Any other person , human or vampire would have been dead a long time ago. Very strange, very strange indeed…

"Tsunade, I have a patient for you, this is Sasuke." Tsunade looked down at the human, but before she could get a good look at him, he was taken out of her sight again, being replaced by Itachi's retreating back.

"Itachi, where are you going?"

"To my room."

"I don't think that would be such a good idea, he looks pretty damaged already, I doubt he would survive a night with you. You should let me at least patch him up a little before you jump him. And that hood, you seem rather protective."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Itachi asked confused.

"You can let me down now. I don't intend to go anywhere near your bed room." Sasuke glared at him.

Itachi looked down at Sasuke, who was still in his arms, he had nearly walked of with him again.

_Ups._ "I didn't give him that hood, he was already wearing it, he's disfigured." Tsunade raised an eyebrow, but before she could coment itachi opened the door to the infirmary and gently put his new slave on one of the beds, then turned to leave. "See you soon slave." as soon as he had left, Sasuke added:

"…not."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that Sasuke-kun, actually you can count on it, once he's set his mind on something he'll go through with it, so if he says see you soon, he will see you soon, whether you like it or not."

"Hrph."

"So, care to tell me what happened to you?" Sasuke's eyes flared.

"That idiot of a vampire Cyrit decided he didn't like me, so he chained me to a horse and starved me for a week. Then that stupid, arrogant ass of a lord desides to have some kind of fit and digs his 3 cm nails into my sides. All that happened _after_ I had a brawl with 15 vampires from the guard."

"How'd you end up fighting the guard? Oh, your a rebel."

"Yeah, and I wasn't just gonna let myself be caught and sold."

"I guess not. Do you have enough strength to take of your clothes, or should I do it?"

At that Sasuke's eyes widened drastically.(not that she ould see it)"T, take of my clothes? I, I don't think that's such a good idea! I'm fine, just need some rest, that's all!"

"Don't be silly, of with em!"

"No! I can't!"

"What on earth is wrong with you? I'm a medic, don't think you can fool me with that disfigured crap, I know a cripple when I see one, and you aren't. Now tell me, I can keep secrets."

"…You have to swear by your life you won't tell!"

"…"Tsunade hesitated, but curiosity got the better of her. "Alright, I swear."

"By your life."

"By my life."

Sasuke pulled of his hood and looked at the floor. A cold hand curled around his chin and lifted it.

"Well, I guess I know why you were so panicked about it. If they knew what you looked like you'd have been sold as a bed slave before you could say _virginity_. Itachi would have taken you at least twice by now…the stronger a vampire is the greater the urge to reproduce, and the stronger they are attracted to beauty, Itachi, is very powerful. I doubt he'd even be coherent, until after he'd finished…he can get rather, animalistic, his instincts totally take over." That was new to Sasuke. Itachi, loose control? Not good.

"Please don't tell anyone!"

"I won't, but Itachi will find out sooner or later, he's far to interested in you, not to."

"Rather later than sooner."

"You'll be in for it then, all I can tell you is to get as familiar and close to his as you can, till then. If your close enough , he might be able to stay half ways in control, because he doesn't want to hurt you…"

"…get close to him?"

"Yeah, make him like you for who you are, so that he'll remember that when he sees you for what you are. Now please get undressed, I have to examine the extent of damage."

With a final resigned sigh Sasuke pulled of the remains of his rags. There were large black and blue blotches all over his body, some where starting to turn different shades of yellow and green. Angry red marks littered his chest, back and legs. She could see all of his ribs. There were five bleeding marks on either side of his waist, the skin on his ankles and wrists was ripped and bleeding, the wounds were definitely infected. Oh she was so going to kill that damn vampire! Tsunade took a long shuddering breath.

"Ok, first your gonna have to take a bath, it will be painful, but it'll help." While she pointed Sasuke out of the door, plans were already forming in her head, Itachi genuinely liked Sasuke, that didn't happen often, the two would make such a handsome couple. They weren't in love yet, but with some help it wouldn't take long, Tsunade was sure, and when Itachi saw Sasuke's face… hm, she would have to go about this very carefully, she didn't want anyone to see Sasuke's face but Itachi and she had sworn not to tell anyone, oh this was going to be fun, she would of course have to talk to some old friends of hers…A sudden knock on the door brought her out of her scheming. A soft voice echoed through the room.

"Excuse me, we were sent here for check up."

"What, oh, hello, are you two new too?"

"Yes, this is Gaara and I'm Neji. Too? Is Sasuke here by any chance?"

"Oh, you know him?"

"…We've met." Neji answered, not sure how much to reveal.

"Have you by any chance seen his face?" Tsunade asked innocently?

Neji grinned, he had found an accomplice. "Why no! I heard it was terribly disfigured!"

Now it was Tsunade's turn to grin. "The two are quite charming together aren't they?"

"They will be." Neji said with a wink.

"Yes, now. I already have a plan, but I'll need your help."

"Oh, I can't wait to hear this!" Neji smirked.

"Well, I though…"

* * *

AND CUT! What do you think? Was it ok? I didn't even proof read this, soo theres probably a lot of typos, sry, i don't like the wayI wrote this chapter, it doesn't flow properly, next time will be better, and faster! (I hope...)

please review!


	4. The begining of what?

Helloooooooooooo! How's life? Don't you all love summer vacation? It is most definetly my favorite time of year, above even my birthday! Anyways, thank you SO MUCH for all the reviews, I can't believe it I'm past 100 and the story's only just started! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Before I start, **PLEASE READ THIS, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT!** Should I make this **Mpreg** or not, please tell me, because it will, obviously change the story! May the votes begin!

well let's get started!

oh yeah, Disclaimer: um, something funny..._All you need is love shabadabadabadaba_! (Imagine a dodo holding a microphone with a sparkling background, trying to imitate the scene from Gravitation...) ok that isn't funny but scary, oh well...

The Beginning...

Itachi walked through the palace, deep in thought. '_A mate. How on earth am I supposed to find a mate?… Sasuke, he's hiding something, I know it…Arg! I'm doing it again! Why do I keep thinking about him? It's like I can't concentrate on anything else anymore. Kami, I need some distraction.'_

So Itachi turned around and made his way to the pleasure quarters.

_abababababababababababababab_

Sasuke slept for three days straight in the infirmary. When he woke up Tsunade put him on some strange energy food diet. It was very effective, too effective, Sasuke didn't even want to know what was in the food he was eating. The week went by and soon Sasuke found himself working in the castle, doing all kinds of things, working in the garden, cleaning rooms, washing. He was so busy he hardly had any time to think about his friends, or Itachi. He was so tired in the evenings that mostly he was asleep as soon as he fell onto his cot. After leaving the infirmary he had moved to the slave quarters, and was surprised at what he found. Sasuke had expected some horrible, dirty, dungeon like place. But it wasn't that bad, they lived in clean 7 man rooms with a shared bathroom. They had three meals and 2 hours free time during lunch, all in all it wasn't that bad. It was a lot better than anything Sasuke had ever had. Even though the work was harsh and often Sasuke ended up with bleeding fingers and bruises, they were all tended to by Tsunade who came down every 3rd day to check up on everyone. Their over seer Kakashi was, albeit being a little strange, a nice guy. He even came down sometimes to play chess or other games with them.

One evening Sasuke lay on his bed, thoughts of escape rushing through his head. '_What the hell am I doing? I've been here for nearly 2 weeks and haven't tried to get away once!… But, do I really want to leave? For the first time in my life I don't have to hide and fear for my life every waking hour of the day, for the first time I actually look forward to the next morning. People don't hate me, I'm not alone anymore. I had Naruto and Sakura, but they can look after themselves, they don't need me, maybe they'll get caught too, and it wouldn't be so bad…but not all vampire households are like this, I've heard enough horror stories from the other slaves before they came here. What am I going to do! I don't know I just don't know! I don't want to leave, but…Naruto and Sakura…'_

Sasuke knew he wasn't really free, even if it felt like that at times, he was in a golden cage. But strangely enough it was a peaceful life, he felt like he belonged, he was treated just like everyone else, and even though they were curious about his face, no one asked, here people were accepted with out question, they were all equal. And he had new friends, Neji and Gaara were with him a lot, and they were fun to watch, it was so obvious they liked each other but they were totally oblivious. Gaara didn't talk much and he seemed sort of scary at times, but those people he trusted, had won a friend for life. Neji was a former noble, his family had been one of the longest to resist the vampires. When his family had finally been overthrown, he had fled. He found Gaara shortly afterwards, that was 6 years ago. Gaara had had insomnia because he was so afraid to sleep alone, until Neji found him lost in the woods near unconsciousness from lack of rest. The two had a very strong bond. They were very different from Naruto and Sakura, but even though Sasuke missed them, he couldn't talk about them, incase someone overheard, names could be vital in finding someone. '_Naruto, please, please don't come after me._'

It was another week before Sasuke saw Itachi again. He was just watering some roses in the garden, when Itachi came storming down the path, he nearly ran Sasuke over. Blink, blink, stare. The angry glow in Itachi's eyes disapeared. "Sasuke!"

"Itachi!"

"Just what I needed!"

"Just what I didn't need!"

"Are you mocking me?"

"Why no, I would never think of such a thing!"

"Intelligent conversation, at last! Those god damned country lords, dumb as a pig, and smell like one too!"

Sasuke raised his eybrow, Itachi hadn't even reacted to his insult. "…Why do you talk to them then?"

"Because I have too."

"Huh? You don't HAVE to do anything, you're the next high lord!"

"That doesn't make me almighty. In order to rule I need the other lords support, no matter how much I dislike them. I can't rule all by myself, I'd have to be in a thousand places at once, and sadly that isn't one of the vampire talents."

After his speech Itachi blinked confused, then smiled, moments ago he had been ready to rip of heads, but as soon as he saw Sasuke, all the blood lust just seemed to vanish. He looked down at Sasuke and grimaced. "Why are you still wearing those rags?"

"Tsunade washed them."

"So? That doesn't stop them from being filthy pieces of-" "Alright I got it, but I don't have anything else."

"Well then I'll have to change that, come with me."

Sasuke followed Itachi through the gardens and back into the palace. _'WTH! This guy is really strange…clothes, that means I have to take these of, not good! '_

"Itachi, you really don't have to do this, I'm fine!"

Itachi stopped in his tracks. "Sasuke if I say you do something I expect you to follow my orders to the letter. If I say you get new clothes, you get new clothes, if I say follow me, you follow me, if I say marry me, you marry me, if I say dance with me, you dance with me, if I say punch me, you punch me…"

'Talk about mood swings…' "Why would you tell me to punch you, not like it would do much damage." 

"Well, just theoretically."

"And, I could never marry you, even if I wanted to, I'm a slave if you haven't noticed."

"You don't act like you are, you're the first human I met who doesn't cower and snivel when they see me. And if I wanted to marry you, I would."

"No you wouldn't."

"Yes I would!"

"No you wouldn't! You would never marry a human slave, no matter how beautiful they were!"

"…What does beauty have to do with you! Your so ashamed of yourself that you walk around with a hood all the time! You panic as soon as someone comes near you!"

"I'm not deform…what ever." Sasuke looked away. _'That was close, why was I so angry?'_

"Your not what?"

'_Better change the subject!' _"Are you saying you want to marry me? If so I'm really sorry but I must decline." Sasuke grinned evilly.

"I don't want to marry you!"

"Hehe, yes you do."

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do!"

"No I don't!"

"No, you don't!"

"Yes I do!"

"Ha, I knew it! Itachi wants to marry a deformed human!"

"You tricked me! I'll get you! Come here!"

Sasuke ignored his command and ran away laughing. Itachi sprinted after him, shouting.

"Stop you little…"

"What!"

"I'm a lord, you have to do what I say!" Itachi nearly whined. Sasuke laughed.

"Never!"

Itachi had to grin in spite of himself, Sasuke was pretty fast for a human, but not for a vampire, Itachi made a big leap and landed on top of Sasuke, grinning triumphantly. "Ow, that hurt."

Itachi's eyes widened, the grin fell from his face, watching as Sasuke clutched his upper body in pain. He grabbed Sasuke's dirty brown shirt and pulled it up. His chest was littered with half healed bruises and cuts. Sasuke groaned.

"Why did Tsunade let you out?"

"Because the week was over."

"So?…Oh, but you never listen to me about anything else!"

Itachi picked Sasuke up and carried him out of the garden.

Beneath the hood Sasuke smiled unconsciously, Itachi was warm and he could hear his heartbeat. So the rumor that vampires didn't have hearts was false, that all vampires were bad was also wrong. Itachi wasn't evil! He had just run around and played tag with him for heavens sake! How could a whining kid like him be considered evil? '_Is he always like that? I don't understand how anyone could be afraid of him, I think he's sort of cute…I did not just think that! I hope he wasn't reading my mind, vampires can do that right? What the hell is happening! I'm not supposed to like him!'_

Sasuke was laid onto a bed, a big bed. _'this isn't the infirmary! Or a place too get clothing.'_

"Where am I?"

"In my room."

"…What?"

"My room."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"…Why?"

" Because!"

"Why!"

"Because your hurt!"

"So?"

"So."

"So?"

"So!"

"…Buh."

"Buh."

"…Hmmmahh."

"Hmmmahh."

Sasuke twitched. "Why are you repeating what I say!"

"Because I didn't know what else to say."

"And now what?"

"I'm getting you some new clothes, and something for your stomach."

'_Why isn't he just sending me to the infirmary? _"…oh, um, thanks." Sasuke whispered.

"What?"

"What!"

"Did you just say something?"

"No!"

"Ok." Itachi grinned, he had heard it loud and clear of course.

"I thought I heard something. I'll be back in a moment, just relax." Itachi disappeared through a pair of black double doors. Sasuke watched him, wondering why he was so nervous about being in the vampire's room. He looked around the 'room', it was more like a house, in a, bigger house. There were several doors leading to 'other rooms', which probably lead to more 'other rooms'. The furniture was surprisingly simple, beautiful yes, but simple, the only thing Sasuke saw that was worth any real money were books, they were everywhere, they covered the walls and big piles were strewn across the floor…clothing was hanging of some of the piles and Sasuke saw dust at least a centimeter thick in some places. _'WTH! This is not the way I thought the room of a high lord would be like, it's a mess!_

Itachi returned with a pile of clothes and a box of medicine. He smiled when he saw Sasuke paging through the book from his bedside table.

"You wont be able to read that, it's ancient vampiric."

"…Oh ancient moon, let thou shadow watch over me in the cover of the night, let my wings carry me to thee so I may always stay with you, for all eternity…"

Sasuke grinned. "I didn't know the future almighty one likes to read poetry."

Itachi's eyes widened.

"I didn't know a human existed who could read ancient vampiric. Not even many vampires can read it. How did you learn it?"

"I learned it…I, I don't know." Sasuke's face went blank, he had just read it and understood it…

flashback 

A young Sasuke stood in the pouring rain, tears mingled with the water running down his face, he watched as the future ran before his eyes.

"Sasuke, why are you crying?"

White hands came around his waist, pulling him into a hug.

Pictures flashed in his mind, he saw a shadow, an outline a creature, just black gleaming eyes visible, burning houses, he recognized his mother screaming. Then a castle built from obsidian, an older version of himself with a red eyed man, a man with fangs, long black purple hair, and great wings, a vampire, his red eyes seemed to burn, right through Sasuke's soul …the pictures vanished. '_Is this the future? Why do I see this vampire? Who is he? Why does he haunt me where ever I go, if I'm asleep or awake? And, why do I want him to haunt me? Why am I so filled with happiness every time I see him?'_

"Sasuke, come inside, you'll catch a cold standing out here, we'll continue with your lessons if you want. The arms around him left, leaving the young boy all alone in the rain.

End flashback 

Itachi watched as Sasuke began to shake, gripping the book so tightly his knuckles went white. Confusion and despair radiated of him in waves, making Itachi slightly dizzy. Without quite noticing what he did, Itachi opened the medical box and got out some ointment that he began to rub onto Sasuke's torso. What was going on, how could Sasuke not know where he learnt to read the vampiric language? And what was going on now? Itachi could smell a spell uravelling. Sasuke flinched away from his touch, but Itachi put one hand on his shoulder pushing him down into the mattress, then he continued to rub the slightly scented salve onto the slaves white skin. He could still feel how he cringed away from his hands. '_Not good, he's coming very close to hysterics.'_

"You're never going to marry me if you wont let me touch you."

Sasuke didn't laugh. He felt as if he wasn't in his body anymore, but floating above it.

"I would never marry a vampire."

"Turn around." Something in Itachi's commanding voice seemed to pull him back to earth, Sasuke obediently turned around. There was nothing sensual about Itachi's touch when he rubbed Sasuke's back, '_and there never will be as long as he believes I'm disfigured. Vampires are attracted to beautiful things_' Sasuke wondered why he was so disappointed by it, did he want Itachi to like him? Itachi was so different, he made Sasuke feel happy, he made him forget what had happened, forget that he should be trying to escape, forget that he should hate him for killing his parents. His parents, what had he seen? Those visions, he had seen Itachi, and the castle, and his village being burned down. But his village hadn't bee burnt down, the vampires had just murdered everyone in it, or taken them prisoner, they hadn't burned it, why did he see it burning? And that shadow…Itachi continued to rub soothing circles over Sasuke's back, and slowly Sasuke relaxed, pushing away all the confusing memories. Then he grinned. "Well maybe not _no_ vampire, but definitely not a prat like you." _'Well actually Itachi would be the only one I would consider marrying if I had to…'_

'_Huh, what's he talking about? Oh yeah, he said he wouldn't marry a vampire…' _"I can't believe we're fighting about marriage!"

"Neither can I, it seems a bit surreal, but it's better than fighting about something unimportant such as clothes, or colors."

Itachi smirked. "But, clothes and colors are very important, imagine you wanted to wear pink to our wedding, I would leave you on the spot!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he imagined Itachi wearing a pink wedding dress. "You. pink!"

They both burst out laughing. Neither noticed they had referred to 'our' wedding.

Itachi packed up the salve then handed Sasuke some clothes. "Here put these on, I'll turn around."

"Thanks."

Itachi vaguely wondered if the thanks was for giving him the clothes, or turning around. The soft rustle of clothes made him smile ironically, usually he associated those sounds with very different activities. But for some reason he had the feeling when ever he heard them from now on, he would think of this moment. He felt, at peace, happy even. It had been a long time since he had felt that way, actually he couldn't remember a time where he had.

Sasuke pulled on the clothes nervously, _'what about the hood? Oh, there's one on the shirt. That was, thoughtful of him. _' "O.K"

Sasuke's voice was soft, almost shy. Itachi's mind wondered into the gutter. It was strange, he didn't even know what Sasuke looked like, he was deformed. _'But that what I've seen, his skin is so white and soft, his body is beautiful, so lean he has curves almost like a girl. Why was I so severely tempted to peek?'_

Sasuke felt like he was in heaven. The clothes were light and soft, _'It's as if I'm wearing a light breeze!_' "I don't think these are very good to work in, they'd get ruined."

"They aren't for working, see them as a present from me. Wear them in your free time."

"I don't know, the others will wonder where I got them from, it isn't fair that only I get them. They'd think I'm getting preferred treatment."

"Wear them when you come to visit me. I don't want you to wear those filthy rags in my presence."

"Me, visit you? Never!" _'Did he just give me an excuse to wear them?'_

"Yes you will. I'm assigning you to my quarters. As you can see it isn't very tidy in here, and the rest isn't much better, so you'll be cleaning in here three times a week from now on. And if they do get dirty for some reason, ask Hinata to wash them. Now go to the infirmary and stay there till your healed, I don't want a slave who might collapse any moment. But I expect you to come on Saturday to start cleaning, it wont be heavy labor so you should be fine and some exercise will do you good after lying around for 3 days. You have filled out a little, but your still to skinny, are you eating properly?"

Sasuke snorted. "You sound like a mother hen."

"I do not!"

"Yes you do. Or a lover…"

"That's more likely! I am most definitely not your mother, and definitely not a hen! Do I look like a hen!"

"Ok, ok, relax you Hen." Sasuke said stressing the last word.

"Don't call me that!"

"Yeah, yeah, bye, see you Saturday."

With that Sasuke opened the door and left.

"Hey, did I say you could leave!…oh whatever. It's not like I'll miss you!"

No matter what he told himself, Itachi couldn't wait till Saturday, he enjoyed spending time with the new slave, he was fun to talk to. That, he told himself was the only reason he wanted to see him. But that, to tell the truth was so close to the river denile that he nearly fell in, but of course Itachi never falls, he jumps. A vampire doesn't like people who are ugly, he couldn't like Sasuke like that! Not like he wanted to watch while he was changing or even better stop him from changei…damn! _I don't even know what he looks like! He's ugly! Anyways, even if he wasn't, I'm getting a mate, so I would have to leave him…_

Flashback 

"And, I could never marry you, even if I wanted to, I'm a slave if you haven't noticed."

"You don't act like you are, you're the first human I met who doesn't cower and snivel when they see me. And if I wanted to marry you, I would."

"No you wouldn't."

"Yes I would!"

"No you wouldn't! You would never marry a human slave, no matter how beautiful they were!"

end flashback 

'_He's right, I would never dream about marrying a slave, it wouldn't even occur to me as an option, I am such a hypocrite!'_

Itachi laid his head in his hands, he didn't know what was happening, he wasn't supposed to think like this…_'I have actually never seen Sasuke with out a hood, he seems to manipulate people into believing him with out even checking to see if he's lying, but, why would he want to lie about something like that?_

Ok I guess I'll end it here, that was the longest chapter I've ever written! As thanks for all the reviews!…please R&R! The more and longer reviews I get, the faster and longer my updates will be! Don't forget to vote!


	5. scary encounter

Chapter 5

Um, hello…over 165 reviews…faints…thank you soooooo much! You're all great reviewers!

The vote is ended, thanks to anyone who answered and it's going to be…NO Mpreg, sorry to anyone who wanted, I hope you continue to read this anyways…

Disclaimer: Arg, I can't think of anything funny! Damn! I just read this really awesome vampire book called Twilight, after that comes New Moon, they're the first two books in a series, the author is Stephenie Meyer. I totally recommend them to anyone who likes vampire stories, no yaoi sadly, but they rock, the best books I've read in a long time, including Harry Potter, honestly it's not that great…

**I'm in need of a BETA, if anyone is good at spelling etc. and would be willing to help me, please tell me, I would really appreciate it!**

"speech"

'_thought'_

_/mental conversation/ _

Last chapter: _'I have actually never seen Sasuke with out a hood, he seems to manipulate people into believing him with out even checking to see if he's lying, but, why would he want to lie about something like that?_

* * *

Scary encounter

Sasuke walked down the hall, he was a little worried, why did Itachi seem so interested in him? It was getting very dangerous, even though he would never admit it, he would miss they're games, nothing would be the same if Itachi saw his face, he'd turn into an object, something to use, when desired and otherwise thrown away. He didn't want that to happen.

"Hey, Sasu-chan!"

Sasuke's head snapped up and he looked around wildly. But to late, Kakashi was already standing in front of him, damn those vampires and their speed!

"What did Itachi want? I saw you had a merry chase through the gardens."

"That's none of your business."

"Feisty as ever Sasuke. Oh well, I need you to run an errand for me. Bring this to Orochimaru-sama."

"Orochimaru?"

"-sama."

"Sama."

"Yes."

'Orochimaru…? I don't like this.'

"Uh, where is he?"

"Oh, sorry, he's probably in his study, it's at the top of the south tower."

Sasuke nodded, he knew where that was, it was said that no slave had ever come back after being sent there…

"Hurry up, he isn't going to eat you, don't believe that slave gossip, Orochimaru-sama isn't half as bad as everyone say's he is. I don't have anything else for you to do, so if you aren't given anything by the high lord, you can take the of the rest of the day, now of with you."

Sasuke turned on his heal and began the march to the south tower.

'Orochimaru. I wonder what he's like, hopefully the rumors aren't true…' 

It took him a good 15 minutes to get to the tower. _'Why is this goddamn place so big? It's like running a frigging marathon!'_

Sasuke walked up the last stairs and looked around. He had obviously never been up in the tower, it reminded him of a Japanese brothel, for some reason._ 'Oh well, better not think about that…'_

It wasn't hard to find the study. The ceiling high, blood red door was very hard to miss. Sasuke squared his shoulders, gulped; walked to the door and pushed…they didn't budge. He tried again, nothing. _'Ok, now what?'_

"Looking for something?"

Sasuke jumped, he hadn't noticed anyone come up behind him. Slowly he turned around and stared into a pair of yellow, cat-like eyes. _'WTH. Is this Orochimaru?'_

"-Sama for you, but yes, I am Orochimaru, who might you be my little friend?"

'Oh god, I didn't just say that out loud, did I?' 

"…Sasuke. I'm here to bring you a message from Kakashi, -sama."

"Ah, your Itachi's little pet, I see you had fun in the gardens. He's acting very strange. Do you have anything to do with it?"

"How should I know?" _'What does he mean with strange? What was Itachi like before then…'_

"Hrm, read it to me."

"Huh?"

"I don't like repeating myself, the message, read it."

Sasuke scowled under his hood. "Orochimaru-sama, I need the guest list for Itachi's birthday masquerade. Will the humans be allowed to attend? Will the slaves have a free day afterwards? And what foods are to be prepared? Signed Kakashi."

"Hmm, yes, I believe we will invite…

'Itachi's birthday? I wonder how old he is…ug, actually I don't think I want to know…' 

…well, aren't you going to write this down?"

"I don't have anything to write with…sir." _' WTH!'_

"Come on then."

Orochimaru waved his hand and suddenly the doors opened.

"Don't just stand there."

'_I thought humans weren't supposed to walk in front of a vampire…not that I follow that rule…'_

"Oh, don't worry about it."

'_I know I didn't say that out loud.'_

Orochimaru sat down behind a dark wooden desk smirking at the confused human, _'He's quick, it usually takes them months to notice, it they notice at all…'_

Meanwhile Sasuke's mouth had fallen down in amazement, the room was, beautiful, and definitely NOT what he had expected from a torture happy vampire lord. No torture weapons, no dead bodies, not even parts of dead bodies. The floor was a strangely comforting shade of blue, so dark it was almost, but not quite black, like the sky on a cloudless, starless night. Sasuke wondered what kind of stone had that color.

"I've been wondering too, it was there when I moved into the castle. It is extremely old."

'Just when did he…you move in? No point in talk…thinking, about you when you can obviously hear me.'

Orochimaru smiled.The boy was most definitely interesting, _'Hm, I wonder…'_

_/Sasuke-kun/ _

Sasuke jumped then stared wide eyed at Orochimaru.

"Did you just, just, think at me!"

Yes, not many humans have the ability to hear us, you don't stop surprising me Sasuke-kun. I just might have to take you away from Itachi and keep you for myself.

_'What?' _

"Hihihihihi, don't worry, Itachi would rip my head of if I took you, you've got him properly obsessed, you have."

"Is that a good thing?"

Orochimaru grinned. "Depends…But we must get that letter written."

Sasuke automatically caught the paper and pen that flew at him. Then he stared at the lord, back down at the objects in his hand, and back up. _'How did I know those were coming…It was as if I knew he was going to do that.'_

'_Interesting, interesting….his hands are very pretty. They make me want to kiss them, then slowly trail up his arm, running my teeth over the tender flesh, past white shoulders, to the crook of his neck and then…' _Orochimaru's hand's clenched, his eyes turned from bright yellow to a gleaming ruby red, dark with hunger. His muscles tightened, his gaze never leaving that white, slender hand, fingers still elegantly curved around the paper and long feathered pen. Sasuke looked up, the atmosphere in the room had drastically changed. Slowly he razed his gaze to the vampires face, he flinched at Orochimaru's eyes; they were burning, following his every move as if they alone could eat him up whole. _'What's going on? He's staring at me like a fresh piece of meat…oh shit, no, please no!' _Sasuke frantically reached for his hood, had it fallen of?

Orochimaru watched as the white hand went up to the hood covering the humans disfigured face…he stopped dead in his thought. '_How could a single hand, of a disfigured boy, no less, make me loose control like that?…Oh, Shaitan, I nearly killed him! Itachi would throw a fit! He'd loose it completely…_'He stopped again, confused. '_Why am I think that, Itachi wouldn't get upset over an ugly human. Something isn't right here.'_

The lord looked back at the boy, still standing in front of him, his hand was shaking. Orochimaru mentally growled, Sasuke flinched.

'_His eyes are yellow again. What the hell happened there, my hoods' still on.'_

"Sasuke, start writing." Sasuke blinked, for a moment not comprehending what the vampire wanted, then looked around, before sighing and settling on the floor, pen in hand. "As I said before, yes we will invite humans, I think we will give the workers a holiday, so they can celebrate too. Hm, yes, the slaves will have a day of afterwards. Why, I think we'll have an excursion with those who can be trusted not to run away, not that they'd get far, but I hate loosing personnel. Food? A banquet of course! We might be vampires but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy good cooking, not that it helps our appetite much, but it's nice to remember, don't you think Sasuke-kun? As for proper nourishment for our vampire guests, get some of the criminals out of the dungeons, clean them up a bit and take them to the dinning rooms. Are you writing everything down Sasuke-kun?"

"Yes, invite humans, workers get a holiday, slaves have a day off and get to leave the castle, if trustworthy. Human food, and criminals from the dungeons in the dinning rooms." Sasuke's voice was devoid of any emotion, he didn't think about the criminals from the dungeons, what they were charged with, or how they were going to end, especially not that.

"Good, that's all for now, add that I want him to come pick up the list as soon as he had time, I'll be finished by then. And while we're at it, you'll be cleaning the bathhouses during the feast, I don't want you anywhere near the grand hall, is that understood…and wear gloves, for your own safety. That's all."

'No other jobs? Wait, gloves? Why?' Sasuke silently hoped Orochimaru forgot to give him anything. The vampire grinned at the thoughts, it would be fun to watch how the two of them developed, and maybe he could find out what was wrong…with Sasuke. 

"Just bring the note to Kakashi…then go find Itachi, go bug him for a while.

_/Itachi? Why?…Orochimaru? How come he can't read my thoughts and you can/_

Orochimaru's eyebrows rose for a second.

_/…Skills develop with time, and Itachi is still very young, in comparison to me. He is exceptionally strong for his age, but some things just need time to develop./ _What Orochimaru didn't add, was that normally, Itachi could read minds, at least to a certain extent, if he wanted to.

Sasuke grumpily walked down the hall, cursing colorfully. _'There goes my free afternoon…stupid Itachi…maybe I can say I didn't find him.'_

It took him nearly an hour to find Kakashi, and when he did it took everything he had not to start laughing hysterically, instead, he stared. Kakashi was standing in a secluded corridor, with a book in one of his hands, titled, "Icha, Icha Paradise". The other hand was in a place it definitely shouldn't be, in an open corridor. Sasuke could make out two figures on the cover of the book, in a, very compromising position. But before he could make out any details, Kakashi let the book disappear in his waist bag. "Hello Sasuke, I'm glad to see you survived your encounter with Orochimaru-sama."

"…Yes, and I'm glad to see you found such a great book to pass your time with."

"Why thank you, I quite agree. The note?"

Sasuke held out the paper, avoiding contact with the vampires' hand, he did not want to touch it after it had been down there. He cringed.

"Did Orochimaru-sama give you anything else to do?"

"He told me to go bug Itachi for a while." '_Damn I was hoping he wouldn't ask.'_

Kakashi started laughing "That's typical of him, he's such sadist sometimes. You'd better go and look for Itachi then." With that he disappeared, leaving Sasuke alone in the hallway. Uhg, I can't believe I just caught Kakashi jacking off, that's just grose.

ABABABABABABABABABABA

Sasuke sighed, he had most definitely had enough walking for today, he'd been looking for Itachi for an hour, with no success. _'Maybe I should just wait for him in his room…yeah I'll do that, I'm not going to run through this whole god damned castle, not knowing if he's even in here. For all I know he could be in town getting more slaves._'

Sasuke quickly pushed away the slight feeling of…what ever it was, that stirred up in him when he pictured Itachi chasing a faceless pretty-boy through the gardens, like he had him earlier.

No, no, no, I do not want him to see my face!' 

Sasuke abruptly turned on his heal and stalked to Itachi's room.

When he got there, he gingery sat down on the edge of the bed for a few minutes, shifting nervously, looking around the untidy room. Then he jumped up and grabbed two books that were lying on the floor and shoved them into a random shelf.

Soon he found himself tidying the room, picking up papers and books, putting them into orderly piles, collecting clothing strewn around the room…he was just reaching down to grab a formless piece of clothing when the door opened and Itachi stepped into the room. Sasuke froze. Itachi's eyes traveled down to the garment in his hand and his eyebrows shot up. "I didn't know you liked me that much."

Sasuke looked down at the…boxers…in his hand. He stared at them, black, of course, then screamed and threw them as far away as possible, which happened to be Itachi's head. They both stared. Then Sasuke started laughing. "Haha, ha, ha, Itachi, hahaha, captain underpants…hahaha, OMG…hahaha, that's hilarious, hahaha!"

Itachi blinked. No one, had ever called him funny (not to speak of the captain underpants), he didn't think any vampire had been called that, they just weren't funny. "Sasuke…" his voice sounded dangerous.

"Haha, hehe, yes?" Sasuke was trying desperately to quell his laughter, but it was pretty hard, seeing that Itachi still hadn't removed the article of clothing from his head.

"Why are you in my room?" Sasuke couldn't take it anymore, he ran over to Itachi, stood on his tip toes and pulled the boxers from his head. He took a few calming breaths before answering. "Orochimaru told me to come bug you."

" Come bug me…" Itachi mumbled angrily, then he shot up and before Sasuke knew what had happened, he was thrown onto the ground with Itachi over him. "OROCHIMARU! What did Orochimaru want with you! Tell me! What did he want! NOW!"

Sasuke stopped breathing, Itachi's eyes had turned dark, so dark they were nearly black, he was breathing hard, his gaze livid. He was holding Sasuke's wrists, pinning him to the floor. The boy could feel his hood slowly slipping of his face. "I, Itachi?" His voice was squeaky, two octaves to high. Itachi blinked, his eyes slowly returning to they're normal beautiful color. He looked down at the small body under him, both of them were shaking. The hood had slid up, uncovering the bottom part of Sasuke's face, his chin, his lips, lily white skin, seeming to glow in the light. Mouth slightly parted, lips trembling. Itachi's breath hitched, his hand moved from the thin wrist to trace slowly over soft skin. "Itachi, you're hurting me, let go. Please." Itachi watched those full lips move, and suddenly had the incredible longing to see Sasuke's eyes. But the boy quivered beneath him a soft sob escaping. _'Now it's all over…'_

Hesitantly Itachi released the other wrist and even slower, he rose, pulling Sasuke up with him. Now it was his turn to take a few calming breaths before speaking. "You, your face doesn't seem ugly…"

Sasuke pulled the hood as low as possible over his face, then hugged his arms around himself, as if cold, he shivered. "It, it's the, the top part of m, my face, I, w, was burned."

Sasuke turned away quickly. _'He didn't see, thank what ever deity out there, oh thank you, thank you!'_ Sasuke choked another sob.

Itachi stayed silent, then gently wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist, resting his head upon the others. "I'm sorry I scared you. But, Orochimaru, he's dangerous, even more so than me, you're mine, I wont give you away.

* * *

Bwahahahahahar! I'm so horrible evil! You thought he'd see Sasuke's face right, right! Not yet, I have it all planned out, up till there at least… it'll be soon, I promise.

Anyways, read n' review, it's my main source of food! Flames are used for cooking, ja, ja, ja…


	6. Masquerade

Journey of a Heart chapter 6

…I, I'm Sooooo sorryyyyy! Buhuhuuhuuuu, don't kill me! Don't stop reading my story, I'll update more, I promise!!!

71 reviews for one chapter…wow, 71 reviews… not a single flame! Thank you so much!! And so many people volunteered to be my beta!! For those that did and still want to be I'll send my new beta's an email and send them the next chapter as soon as it's finsh.

Thank you again!

No more rambling, on to the story.

Disclaimer: yes, well, if Naruto belonged to me…better not finish that sentence.

Last Chapter_: "I'm sorry I scared you. But, Orochimaru, he's dangerous, even more so than me, you're mine, I wont give you away._

**Masquerade**

* * *

Sasuke went red, just thinking about that last incident. _'He…hugged me…OMG, he hugged me!...What the…Am I happy about that? No way, I am not happy and giddy, and giggly like some fangirl that Itachi hugged me…nope, I'm not, _definitely_ not.'_

It was a week later, the night of the ball, Sasuke along with all the other servants was in a mad rush to get everything ready, at the moment he was carrying a huge platter of chicken into the dinning hall…until it suddenly disappeared from his hands.

"Sasuke, leave the chicken, Itachi is calling for you."

Sasuke looked up, kakashi was holding the chicken platter above his head, grinning, not a good sign.

"What does he want now?" The grin grew.

"Why don't you go and find out?"

Sasuke scowled. "Fine!" with that he turned and stalked away. Kakashi just grinned pulled out a pink book of the name Icha Icha Paradise and started reading.

'_Stupid Itachi calling me all the way to the other side of the castle…wait, Kakashi never told me where he is, where am I? …'_

"Sasuke! Come here!" Itachi stood at the door without a shirt on holding two pairs of pants…he was wearing another…with the zipper open.

'_How, what, how did I know he was here…half naked…I did not just think that.'_

"Sasuke, hurry up!"

"I'm coming, god, don't whine like a little kid, your over 50 years old, get a grip."

Sasuke jogged over to the vampire, took a look at the trousers he was holding and pulled them both out of his hands. "Your going to a ball, not a punk party, so wear something appropriate."

"That's what I called you for. Now help me." The look on Itachi's face could have frozen the fires of hell.

"Oh stop acting like an ice statue, I know you to well to be scared of that."

The ice face disappeared, to be replaced by Itachi's typical expressionless calm, behind which a hint of amusement hid. Sasuke looked into the room and froze, the room was full of clothes, huge cupboards full of them, going all the way up to the ceiling. But that wasn't all, the walls were huge mirrors, even the ceiling. With further inspection Sasuke noticed that on one wall there were rectangular windows, nearly impossible to distinguish from the rest of the wall. Intricate designs ran along the edges of the mirrors/walls and heavy dark red curtains hung on the edges of each closet.

Sasuke's jaw hit the floor. "What the hell is this? A mall?"

Itachi sniggered. Sometimes Sasuke could be really ignorant, but that just made him cuter… _'Did I just think Sasuke was cute?...Well, he is I guess, he always acts so arrogant and confident while in reality he's really nice and insecure, and he…and he's what? Beautiful? What was I thinking? Ups, I think I'm supposed to say something, what was he asking again?' _Sasuke blinked, Itachi was staring at him, then he shook his head slightly.

"No, it's my Dressing room. And since you are now my personal slave one of your jobs is to lay out my clothes for me in the mornings."

"What? But how the hell am I supposed to know what you want to wear, apart from the fact that I can't even reach most of the stuff, and I don't see a ladder anywhere."

Itachi smirked. "Don't worry about that."

Suddenly a shadow fell over Sasuke, an arm coiled around his waist and before he knew it his feet had left the ground. "Whaaaaa, Itachi! What's happening!!?"

"Are you scared of heights little Sasuke?" _'God, he's cute…'_

Sasuke desperately tried to turn his head to see what was behind him, but the hood got in the way, so he could only feel, the warm breath next to his ear on the other side of the thin fabric.

"Don't worry I wont drop you."

"Drop me? Wait, Itachi! Don't do that! Let me down at once!" _'What's he doing, to close, he's to close, just like last time, I feel like my heart is beating right out of my chest, he must be able to hear it! Ohnonononoooo!'_

Itachi grinned, he could feel Sasuke's heart beating in his chest, he rested his head on the younger's shoulder, breathing in his scent. _'Hmmm, smells nice…closer, I want to touch skin…'_

"Ita, Itachi, let me go! This isn't funny!"

Itachi growled and strengthened his hold around Sasuke's waist, then he relaxed.

"Just choose something for me to wear and I'll let you down, I doubt you really want me to let you go straight away."

Sasuke looked into one of the mirrors and nearly screamed, they were only a few centimeters below the ceiling, Itachi's wings beating slowly to keep them aloft.

"Fine, go to that shelf over there."

'_Playing the arrogant one again, your heart beat tells a different story Sasuke.'_

"Your wish is my command…for now at least."

For the next 2 hours Sasuke looked for the perfect ball outfit, while being held by a half naked vampire, 15 meters high up in the air.

"Sasuke, I don't want you anywhere near the ball tonight, is that understood, your going to stay away as far as possible, no matter what anyone else tells you!"

"Why?"

"Because I, because…" _'I don't want you to get hurt.' _"Because I don't want the other vampires to know I have a disfigured slave, don't embarrass me please."

"Oh." _'Why does my heart hurt, didn't he say I was his, is it so bad for me to be ugly, can't anyone love me just for who I am, and not for what I look like? Why does it hurt so much? I can't breath, my heart feels like it's going to break apart, I can't breath!'_

"Sasuke? What's wrong?" _'His heart beat is erratic…'_

'_I can't tell him.' "_I'm fine, let me down now, I still have work to do."

"Hmh, don't forget not to come near, take the rest of the night of, tomorrow you can go into the city right?" Itachi set Sasuke down on the floor, but didn't take his hands from his waist.

"Yes, but only if we **worked **hard and are considered trustworthy enough not to run away."

"Would you run away?"

"…"

"Go now, unless you want to watch me change, you do seem to have a thing for my underwear so…"

Sasuke went red. "You know that wasn't on purpose, it's your fault for being so untidy! Why would I want to see you in your underwear, that's gross!" Itachi stepped back, holding his hand to his heart.

"I am wounded Sasuke, are you saying you don't think I'm sexy?" Itachi wiggled his hips suggestively, making the open pants slip down even further.

"Sasuke's head began to smoke and he took a step back. "That's isn't funny!" With that he fled the room. Itachi sniggered. _'He's so cute. I can't manage to stay serious with him…the ball, hours of boring talk and eating food that just makes you hungry, and then gorging on some filthy criminal with blood like dirt, yay! I want my Sasuke…'_

If anyone had been in the room they would have seen Itachi pout like a child that lost their favorite toy.

* * *

Time leap to ball 

Itachi stood on the balcony surveying the room below. 5 grand chandeliers hung from the ceiling throwing glittering reflections on the walls. Along one side was a buffet filled with wonderful creations of food, most of which would go to waste, the few humans that were hear could never eat it all. _'The slaves should get it, at least they'd have something from it, not like us who just mimic the humans in our behavior, how pitiful.'_

Already the hall was fool, every new arrivals name and title being called out loud by a poor slave, who's voice would be gone for the next week no doubt. Itachi sighed, soon he'd have to join them. '_And all every vampire eligible for marriage will be thrown at me, uhg. I miss Sasuke…why can't I stop thinking about him? Even if I try he always invades my thoughts, I can't stop it…Sasuke, I'm getting to attached and I know it, since when have I wanted to spend time with a human, who isn't in the pleasure district? Since when have I wanted to protect a human, or anyone? Since when have I not been able to stop thinking about someone? It's like a part of me is missing when he isn't there. I can't remember laughing so much in entire life, actually I can't remember ever laughing. What happened to the cold, dark vampire lord who's only pleasure came from torture? When did I loose control like this? When did I start caring?_

"Itachi, it's time."

"Yes Orochimaru." Orochimaru grinned. _'Since when does Itachi guard his thoughts this much, I wonder what he's thinking about that needs so much protection…wouldn't it be fun if it had something to do with our new little pet. Fate always knows when I'm board and sends me something entertaining, such a mystery our Sasuke-kun.'_

"Let us welcome our guests, alive and dead. They are after all only here for you, happy birthday."

"…Very funny."

"You have no sense of humor my dear Itachi."

"…"

'_So cold, no one would ever guess that you chased a little human boy around the gardens just a few weeks ago.' _Orochimaru's grin widened.

The two reached the stairway, Orochimaru stepped forward spreading his arms wide in greeting. "My friends, welcome, we have all gathered here in celebration of my nephews 50th birthday and his coming of age. I wish you all a wonderful night, and don't forget tonight at twelve the masks come down. Have fun!" He turned around walked back to where Itachi was standing in the shadows.

Then he pulled out a feathered mask, pulled of his black cape and made his way to one of the side entrances of the hall.

Itachi sighed, he seemed to be doing a lot of that lately and followed. _'Why do I have the feeling that this is a movie with me in the main role and Orochimaru's the one watching it?'_

The idea of the masquerade was that the one Itachi was dancing with when the clock rung 12 would become his consort, Itachi, obviously, wasn't exited about the idea. _'At least Orochimaru didn't announce it…oh kami I don't even want to think about it.'_

3 hours later

Itachi was annoyed, to say the very least. He had danced with over 20 different people, none of whom had said anything intelligent what so ever, the entire time he was with them, he had drunken blood that tasted like it had been collected of the street and stuck back into a living corpse, he didn't understand how anyone could enjoy the stuff, like all the other vampires seemed to be doing. Right now he was standing at the edge of the room infront of a huge mirror made of ice, kept frozen by Orochimaru's will power, he had stopped the ices time, keeping it imprisoned the way it was for all eternity. _'Sasuke…'_

"Board?" Itachi raised his head, but made no other move to acknowledge the others presence.

"No."

"Hm, it seems to have gotten very chilly in hear don't you think my lord."

Itachi raised an eyebrow and looked at the vampire who had appeared next to him.

"I will talk to the slaves immediately, they will put more coal on the fires."

The man chuckled. "My, my, you are just as cold as everyone says. It is an honor to meet you Itachi."

Itachi froze. Not that it had any outward effect on him since he was already as rigid as vampirely possible. _'What's happening, I'm going cold all over…'_

A hand touched his shoulder, seeming to send a raging firethrough his veins. _'What is this smell? It's not blood…I'm hungry, but what for? Everything hurts…I can't keep my body under control! Everything's so bright!'_

Itachi raised his head up to the great mirror and stared into his own reflection. The eyes behind the mask were ice blue. _'What?'_ Itachi turned back to the vampire, he smiled, his eyes were the color of the sky on a day with no clouds and temperatures far below 0.

Itachi groaned, nearly doubling over. '_Who is this guy?!'_ He took one last look then

stumbled towards an exit. As soon as he was in the corridor he slammed against the wall breathing hard. _'This smell, it's, it's…hungry…starving…prey……Sasuke…hunt!'_

Black wings unfurled, long claws took the place of finely manicured fingernails…

Sasuke smiled despite himself, Kakashi had allowed him to use the baths, as long as he cleaned them afterwards. He was now sitting in a hot indoor onzen, enjoying the warm steam on his face. _'It's nice not to have to wear my hood, no one will come hear, and if they do, they wont dare to do anything, I can say I belong to Itachi, and I wont even be lying! I wonder how he's doing…' _The smile left his face. _'He's probably forgotten all about me, to him I'm just an ugly slave. And if I showed him my face? What then? He'd probably rape me, laugh and then kill me._ _You're mine, I wont give you away._

_He seemed so, intense then, but now…what should I think, what do you want Itachi!? Why is this all so confusing? All these emotions, what are they…help me, someone! Please…Itachi.'_

**WHAM!!!**

Sasuke jumped and spun around to the door, it was open.

"I, Itachi, I,is that you?"

* * *

Mwhahahahahar! My ultimate cliffhanger!!! 


	7. Revelations

I'm back...sorry for the long wait, I made the chapter double as long though, please don't hate me!!!!

Well to no longer keep you waiting, will Sasuke's secret finally be revealed?

Last Chapter:

_I, Itachi, is that you?_

* * *

The figure stopped in its tracks. A low growl resonated through the room. Sasuke took a step forward. _'Something is calling me…it sounds so sad…' _In that moment the figure disappeared. _'Where did he go?' _Suddenly Sasuke was ripped of his feet and pulled into an strong embrace. Warm breath blew into his ear from behind, making him shiver, _'This seems to be happening to me a lot recently…' _a hand grabbed his face, roughly turning it toward his captor, thin claws making long scratches in his cheeks . Then all Sasuke could see was Itachi's face, red eyes seemed to burn his very soul. Closer, closer…_ 'What are those black markings, they weren't there before…' _That was as far as Sasuke came before Itachi was kissing him, Sasuke's eyes widened when a…cold, tongue invaded his mouth. _'Why is it so cold, I feel like my mouth is freezing, my lungs are on fire, it hurts…Itachi, stop, please!...Everything is going white, I feel like, like…' _Sasuke went limp in Itachi's arms. _'So warm, wonderful, as if my very soul is being warmed…' "__Itachi, stop please!"_

Itachi jumped, _'Sasuke?'_ He looked down at the figure in his arms, and nearly dropped him. Very slowly he raised a hand to run it through ebony locks that fell haphazardly over the boys face, partly soaking in his blood. _'What…?Sasuke…?' _Itachi's eyes fell onto a drop of blood as it made it's way down a white cheek, past a now, red slightly swollen pair of lips, down the chin, along the line of a soft throat and between the junction of the collarbone, then further down a smooth hairless chest, past the bellybutton toward the hem of a black pair of boxers…Itachi quivered, then just before the droplet could disappear in the fabric, his tongue flicked out and captured it. The moment he came in contact with Sasuke's blood, Itachi's body cramped up, a low groan escaping his lips, then the black wings and the claws retreated, and his eyes returned to their usual blood red pools. He breathed in deeply once, his nose touching Sasuke's lower stomach, then he followed the bloody tail back up his slaves' stomach with his tongue. He didn't know what was happening, but the only important thing was to get more, more, feel, touch, taste… Briefly he stopped at Sasuke's neck, but then continued to lick up to those red lips, so full of warm wonderful blood. Something inside Itachi seemed to want to break out of his body and before he knew what was happening he had pried open Sasuke's unresponding lips with his tongue and was kissing him, and he let out a shaky breath.

Sasuke moaned, he felt as if he were being burned alive his veins were burning. _'Everything is so hot…I feel so strange, as if I had been gone…somewhere…and now I'm coming back, is this always what happens when you faint?...why did I faint anyways? I feel so numb, I can't feel my body…I was cleaning and then…Itachi came in and, and…kissed me…kissing me…what is that.' _Suddenly feeling returned to his body, as if he'd been frozen and then the ice had melted all at once. Something hard was rubbing against his thigh… He was crushed against another body, silky cloth, the only thing separating their bodies. _'Silky…mmmhhhh…wait that's NOT silk!' _Sasuke opened his eyes, to stare at his captor's blissful face. Which was way to close for his liking, way to close, inside him…_ 'His tongue…oh m, my god his tongue, his tongue!! It's in my mouth!! Ahhhhh!!' _Sasuke started to squirm, panic clear in his face. Itachi groaned heatedly when he felt Sasuke's body rub against him. Sasuke froze. _'What is that? I feel like someone is prodding my leg with a stick…oh no…' _Sasuke stared up at Itachi, who had finally stopped ravishing him, then his gaze traveled down the others body until it stopped at a **very** large bulge in the others pants.

Itachi snickered, the horror on Sasuke's face was just too much. He thrust forward, making Sasuke groan involuntarily, Itachi wasn't the only one with a problem. Sasuke's face went so red Itachi was sure it was going to burst. "Sasuke, stop trying to tempt me, do you **want **me to attack you, and nearly seeing the blood pump through your face really isn't helping." His grin widened. But Sasuke finally realizing what had happened, went from tomato red to even paler than before, if that was possible.

…_If they catch you, you can kiss your innocence good bye! They'll pounce on you like dogs in a heat, no amount of dirt and rags can hide it Sasuke, live with it." _

Hot tears gathered in Sasuke's eyes. _'…Hahaha, now I don't even have dirt and rags, only a pair of boxers, no wonder Itachi's doing this. What else should I have expected, did you really think, just because he was nice to you he wouldn't fuck you the moment he saw you? Why am I crying? Damn it! I am so stupid, go away stupid tears!! Go away, I don't want this, this feeling!' _Itachi bent down and kissed Sasuke again, making Sasuke groan lowly._ 'I don't want to like it when he kisses me, I don't want to feel safe when he holds me, I don't want to be so happy here that I don't even want to run away!' _Sasuke ripped his mouth away from Itachi's and collapsed against the vampire's chest and cried. Itachi froze. _'What the…? Is he crying? Oh Shaitan, he __**is**__ crying, now what? He really has to stop vibrating like that, not helping…damn it, that's what you do when you cry right?...'_ "Umm…" Itachi looked around, as if looking for help, then gingerly patted Sasuke's head. The boy moved closer clinging to the now bloody and wet silk shirt. Itachi groaned. _'Not good, I am really not good at self control…'_ Itachi shifted his weight and picked Sasuke up, who straight away wrapped his legs around the vampire's middle as not to fall. Itachi, now having gotten rid off, his biggest problem, sighed, unfoiled his wings and flew up to his room window, unlocking it with a wave of his hand. He ran a hand through Sasuke's hair, with the other he rubbed, hopefully comforting circles over the others back. Sasuke loosened his death grip on Itachi's shirt slightly, and stopped shaking. Itachi breathed a sigh of relief flew into his room and sat down on the bed… and had to bit his tongue to stop himself from thrusting forward again, he got up very quickly. Having Sasuke on his lap was most definitely not the right thing at the moment. _'Shaitan I want him, I want him now…nonononoo…must get him off me…'_ An incoherent Itachi, is a dangerous Itachi. "Sasuke, please let go of me." Taking hold of the boy's hands he pulled them of and gently lay him down on the bed. Then he stood there a little confused and rubbed his head frustratedly. _'What am I going to do now?' _Sasuke turned to look at him pleadingly, the gaze seemed to go right to Itachi's groin. _'First I have to calm down, then I'll deal with this…'_ "Sasuke, try to sleep, you have to calm down, panicking isn't going to help. And this whole sniveling human thing doesn't fit to you." Itachi stared down at Sasuke a moment longer, then strolled out of the room.

Sasuke watched him go with disbelieving eyes. Slowly the panic drained out of his system, when he registered that Itachi wasn't even in the room anymore. He took a few deep breaths. _'Ok, calm down, calm…wait…' _Hey!! I'm Not sniveling!! You asshole!!" he yelled at the closed door, and for a moment he thought he heard someone laughing.

'…_What the hell is going on, he didn't do anything.' _Sasuke's eyes widened._ 'Doesn't he want me? Am I not good enough for him?...of course I'm not, who would want to sleep with some kid who just cried all over their shirt…wait, am I disappointed?... Hell no!! I'm just confused, that's all!! Ok, calm down. Breathe… He was so strange, like he didn't know what to do. It was sort of cute…nonononooo…' _Sasuke sat up and looked around the room._ 'Is he going to leave me here all alone, with an open window and the guards busy with the ball? Isn't he scared I'll run away?...' _He slumped back onto the bed. _'But I'm not, am I? This is my home now. I wouldn't survive out there for long anyways, not now that Itachi knows what I look like…' _Sasuke went red and covered his face with his hands. _'…I'm only wearing my boxers, aren't I…damn it, why me?...mmhh, it smells nice…like Itachi…so tired……'_

* * *

1hours later

Itachi thundered down the hall, one all-round unhappy vampire, he had gone to the pleasure quarters, let a slave take care of his hard on, but when he wanted to fuck the kid, all he could think about was Sasuke, he felt like he was some how betraying the boy by sleeping with someone else, apart from the fact that the slave couldn't even arouse him, even though he was actually Itachi's current favorite. _'What the hell is going on!!?? This is not supposed to be happening!'_ He walked right past the ball room where his birthday was still being celebrated and made his way to the practice field, where he grabbed a zanpaktou and started going through the forms. Then suddenly his eyes narrowed and he disappeared for a second, then reappeared on the other side of the field, sword pointed at a vampire concealed behind one of the pillars of the practice hall. "What do you want?" Itachi's voice was low and controlled, his hand holding the weapon was still, but the bloodlust was unmistakable. The other smirked. "I thought I might help our future high lord calm down a little, from what ever got him this… heated." Itachi regarded the smiling man suspiciously for a moment, then nodded. He raised his hand and a sword flew from the weapon right into the other vampire's outstretched hand. "May I enquire who my noble opponent is." It wasn't a question. "Zaku my lord." Itachi nodded again. He didn't wait for the other to get ready. With one swift movement he let his sword glide to the others neck, but it was deflected. Soon the sound of metal on metal filled the night. The pair traveled over the field, testing the others skills and agility, both were grinning feraly. But the fun ended when Zaku leaned forward and tried to kiss Itachi, as their swords locked. Itachi growled and bodily threw the other of him, sending him flying. But that wasn't the end of it. Itachi was by far the stronger of the two and dropping his sword he chased Zaku over the grounds. The others lustful gaze, becoming more and more fearful, the gleam in Itachi's eyes was that of a mad man, blinded by rage and the bottom most instinct to murder. Itachi herded his prey into a corner and without hesitation rammed his hand through the others stomach and out on the other side. Zaku's eyes widened and he opened his mouth in a silent scream, blood splattered onto the walls and over Itachi, who leaned forward and with his free hand grabbed Zaku's face. "You look a lot prettier like that you ugly whore." With that he roughly kissed the vampire while at the same moment ripping of Zaku's head. He tore his hand out of the body and letting the head go, took hold of each arm and pulled. As if time had been slowed he watched as the vampires body split in two pieces, blood and organs ripping apart and falling to the floor. Itachi's breath came in sharp pants and slowly the deadly gleam left his eyes and he wiped his hands on his shirt in disgust. Without a backward glance he walked of the practice grounds and back into the castle.

* * *

Half an hour later

Itachi returned to his room with dripping hair, shirtless and with open pants. He froze when he saw a figure lying in his bed. _'Another one of those whores trying to seduce me? At least the other one tried something a little more original.' _He stalked up to the bed, ready to pierce the unlucky individual in his bed, when the person shifted to reveal their face. _'Sasuke'_. Itachi froze._ ' Why is he still here_?' he stepped closer and examined the sleeping boy. _'Beautiful…' _A soothing feeling washed over him as he watched the boy sleep, his anger evaporating, a small smile replacing the dark look on his face. '_His cheek is all bloody, when did that happen? What did actually happen? Everything is blurry, I met that strange vampire and then…it was cold and there was warmth that called for me, so I went to it, and then I saw Sasuke, and then I kissed him, then he started crying…' _Itachi reached out and touched the blood covered cheek, running his finger over the scratches. Somehow the blood seemed to grow larger and larger until it filled his whole vision. Itachi vaguely wondered what was happening, then his lips brushed against a warm cheek and once again all coherent thought left him as he laid his lips onto the open wounds and sucked. His hands lifted Sasuke's head as if they had a mind of their own, while Itachi's tongue lapped up the blood oozing out of the scratches he had caused.

Sasuke woke to a strange tingly feeling in his cheek, wondering if he had lain on it to long. _'I didn't know your cheeks could fall asleep…wait, this isn't right, your not supposed to grow a pair of hands on your face!!' _"Itachi, get of me!!" The teeth that had been poised to bite, retreated from his cheek, a low chuckle next to his ear, making Sasuke jump. "My, my, I see you recovered, but what makes you think you can tell me what to do, my dear? I think you are in enough trouble as it is, don't you?" Itachi ran his tongue over Sasuke's cheek one more time, their gazes locked,

and Itachi bit into the warm flesh of Sasuke's face. Sasuke stiffened and made to punch Itachi, when I wave of pleasure crashed over him, rendering his punch useless, instead he gripped Itachi's shoulder and moaned…nearly, if Itachi hadn't covered his mouth with a hand. Then Itachi pulled back and smiled. The scratches had disappeared. His smile turned into a smirk, at Sasuke's expression. "I really can't control myself like that more than once in one night, so please don't try to tempt me." Sasuke went red and ground his teeth. "What did you do to me?!" He glared at Itachi accusingly. "What, all I did was get rid of those ugly scratches, don't you think I deserve a thank you for that?"

Sasuke stared at him blankly. "No." Itachi chuckled. "Ouch, that stung."

Sasuke looked at him strangely. "You smell odd, not like…you…I don't like it."

Itachi's eyes widened, and he stared at Sasuke. Then a shaky grin spread over his features. _'Can he smell the blood, that whore, or the pleasure slave?' _"Oh, really, are you jealous? Why don't you help me get my, smell back then." He leaned down and before Sasuke could so much as blink, captured his lips in a soft kiss. Now Sasuke's eyes widened. _'Uhg, he tastes so strange…what is that…blood?'_

Itachi nearly lost his balance when he felt Sasuke's tongue run over his, as if looking for something. He shivered. Hugging Sasuke closer and letting his own tongue explore Sasuke's mouth, tasting the slightly spicy taste that was Sasuke. Then he pushed the boy away. But not for long, he pulled of his trousers and joined the boy in the bed. Sasuke stiffened, but didn't move away when a pair of arms snaked around his middle and pulled him to a warm chest. Sasuke closed his eyes tightly, wondering if his end had come. But Itachi just rested his head on the other's head and closed his eyes. They lay like that for a long time. And Sasuke slowly relaxed when Itachi did not try anything else. He didn't react when Itachi took hold of his arms and wrapped them around him, trying to get as much body contact as possible. Sasuke buried his face in the crook of the vampire's neck, where it still smelt most like Itachi, he inhaled strongly. Their breathing steadied and slowly the two fell asleep in each others arms.

* * *

The next day (here's a little extra, since this was supposed to be the beginning of the next chappy...)

Itachi woke up feeling better than he had in a long time, he felt rested and…dare he say it, happy? But there was a strange weight on him, that moved and warm air was tickling his neck. He looked down to see a mop of black hair lying on his chest. _'Well that's a surprise, I haven't woken up with someone else for a long time. What happened yesterday?' _Itachi's face seemed to freeze. He looked down and pulled the covers down. Sasuke was lying on top of him sound asleep. _'Ups, I wonder if I fucked him…'_ Itachi's hands wondered down Sasuke's back, enjoying the feeling of the boys soft skin, until he touched the edge of cloth. Itachi sighed. _'Too bad…well I guess it's better this way, since I can't quite remember what happened. It would not be fun if I couldn't remember what it was like to feel him squirm under me and to moan my name and to beg me to touch him and…mind out of gutter, mind out of gutter! Or I'll end up like yesterday, that was not nice.' _"Itachii…" Itachi nearly jumped at the sound of Sasuke's husky voice. He looked at Sasuke who was blinking, a little sleepily. He grinned. Then flipped them around so he was on top resting his hands on either side of the boys head. "Yes?"

Sasuke blinked again. "Why am I in bed with you?" Sasuke asked innocently. Then registering what he had just said, his eyes widened and he tried desperately to get away from under Itachi. But the vampire dropped his weight onto him, trapping the boy under him. "Why do you think? What happens with two people in one bed my dear?" Itachi grinned suggestively.

Sasuke's eyes got even wider and his hand went under the covers to see if they were still clothed, but he slipped, right onto Itachi's, clothed, groin. He went VERY red, with embarrassment and anger. "Mmhh, Sasuke, do that again…" Itachi nearly mewled."

"Rahhh, Get Of Me!!!" Sasuke wriggled frantically. Itachi just lowered his head and lightly bite Sasuke's neck, without breaking the skin. Sasuke stiffened and let out a rattling breath, arching up slightly. Itachi grinned, _'Sasuke's neck is rather sensitive…Guess I didn't manage to keep my mind out of the gutter, but it was his own fault, moaning my name like that, this is going to be fu…ARGG!! Not now!!, I am going to murder him!!'_

Itachi got of Sasuke and out of the bed, pulled on a pair of pants and a shirt, and threw another at Sasuke. "We'll have company in a moment, so if you don't want to be seen like that hurry up." Sasuke threw on the shirt and got out of the bed, just in time. The door flew open and Kakashi waltzed into the room. "Itach…i, who's that?" He sniffed the air and frowned. "Sasuke?" He looked at Sasuke again, then at Itachi. "Itachi, what is going on? What did you do?"

"Why do people keep thinking I did something as soon as they see him? I didn't do anything, if I had he wouldn't be able to stand!"

Kakashi frowned, then nodded. "Your right, well this explains why you weren't at the ball, Orochimaru was furious, especially when we found that kid outside. He had actually wanted a death free night…care to explain that." Itachi raised one elegant eyebrow. "Why do you think I would kill someone?"

Kakashi replied blandly. "I can think of a few reasons."

"I don't like vampires who give up their pride, to whore themselves out to me, in the hope of becoming my mate."

Kakashi sighed. "Itachi, did you really have to kill him? His father was not happy, Orochimaru had to give up your best pleasure slaves, plus quite a bit of gold, as an apology." "Well good, I didn't want them anyways, they bore me." Kakashi stopped and stared at Itachi. Then his gaze traveled back to Sasuke, who was still wearing Itachi's shirt and watching the whole exchange with a raised eyebrow. _'Mhh, I wonder, let's see…'_ Kakashi addressed Sasuke. "Well Sasuke, as you know the slaves have a free day today and some are allowed to go out into the city, if you like you may too." Sasuke's mouth dropped. "Really!? But…" Kakashi interrupted him. "You have put up with Itachi since you got here, and haven't tried to run once, I think that says enough about your loyalty." Itachi looked indignant. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Kakashi looked at him wryly. "That your not the best of company." Itachi huffed and crossed his arms. Sasuke sniggered. Then turned back to Kakashi. "I'd love to, but, um, my, face, you know…"

Kakashi nodded. "Don't worry, you'll just keep that shirt on, no one will touch you, Itachi does have a very individual scent." Sasuke frowned. "Why can't I just wear my hood again?"

Itachi growled. "No, your never wearing that thing again. Your mine and I'll show you of to the world."

'…_That made no sense…Itachi is strange…arg!' _"How often do I have to tell you, I belong to no one!" Itachi grinned andcpounced on him, picked him up crushing their bodies together and ran his tongue along Sasuke's neck, making him shiver. "Say it, you belong to me." He bit down, eliciting a low moan from the boy, he grinned into the warm neck. "N,nooahh!" Sasuke arched into Itachi's touch. _'Why am I so helpless against his touch, the moment he touches me I'm lost, like I need him to touch me.' _Itachi kissed up Sasuke's chin and around his lips, only just refraining from touching them. "Say it." He blew onto Sasuke's now wet neck, the boy would have collapsed had Itachi not been holding him.

"Hehem…" Kakashi cleared his voice pointedly looking at the door. "I'll be going now, Sasuke, if you want to go the city, come to the common room in…45 minutes."

Sasuke went beet red and tried to get Itachi of him, but the vampire held him closer and glared at Kakashi. "Goodbye." Itachi looked at the door pointedly too. Kakashi grinned. "Bye. My lord. Sasuke-kun." With a small nod he left.

Sasuke watched him go with a critical look. "He's acting sorta different, like, less respectful, more confident…what's going on?" Itachi nodded. "But what worries me more, is that he hardly reacted to you, I mean he hardly even glanced at your gorgeous face, no vampire is imune to beauty like that...exept if they already have a..." Itachi frowned. _'I'm gonna have to talk to Orochimaru about that, I have the feeling that there's something he's not telling me...but back to the most gorgeous face on earth...'_

"…you still have to explain that by the way, I don't really see any burns." Itachi looked down at Sasuke sternly. The effect being ruined by the fact he was still hugging him. Sasuke lowered his head. "Well isn't it obvious, what do you think would have happened to me if a vampire saw me? Your reaction yesterday was strange though…I thought I saw…wings…but they were different…arg, I'm confused!"

Itachi stroked Sasuke's hair absentmindedly. "Your not the only one. Sasuke, when you go out I want you to be very careful, if you see a vampire with longish blond hair and really cold blue eyes, I want you to get the hell out of there as fast as possible, alright." Sasuke blinked up at him, puzzled, but then nodded. Does he have anything to do with what happened yesterday?"

"I don't know, but something isn't right, I can feel it…but don't try avoiding the topic! What's with the face?"

"…what's wrong with it? I said I was disfigured so I wouldn't be raped on sight, that's all. And vampire's being vampire's believed me of course." Itachi snorted. "Hehehe, you're cute." Sasuke glared at him indignantly. " I am not cute! Now let go of me, so I can go out." "Hm, what if I don't want to? I mean, I only just got you, I don't want to let you go." Itachi nuzzled Sasuke's neck. "You are such a perve, leave me alone!" Sasuke pushed at Itachi's chest as best possible, which wasn't very, since Itachi wasn't leaving very much space between them. "Hm, well then what do I get for it?" Itachi grinned, but then something occurred to him and suddenly he became very serious and looked down at Sasuke. "Before you go out anywhere there is one thing I still have to do." Sasuke eyed him suspiciously. But his eyes widened when he felt a pair of cold fangs sink into the soft flesh of his neck. "Aahhh, It, Itachiihh!" Sasuke's knees gave way and he hung in Itachi's grip, helplessly moaning. He had never felt like this, never known this unbelievable bliss, every nerve in his body seemed to be hypersensitive, burning with pleasure. Itachi groaned into his deathly kiss as he tasted Sasuke's blood run into his mouth, over his tongue, down his throat and pool down into his stomach, then spreading through him, all the way to his finger tip, a burning fire, a freezing wind, he was drowning, drowning in 'Sasuke', helplessly lost in the rush of power. Sasuke's breath came out in shallow pants, his grip on Itachi's shoulder grew weak. Itachi pulled away from Sasuke's neck, threw him onto the bed and turned to the window. _'Oh Shaitan, what was that?'_

Sasuke moaned and arched wantonly on the bed, making Itachi tense. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke just moaned louder. Itachi moved over to him, regarding the human worriedly.

"Touch me, please!" Sasuke panted and lifted his hands to Itachi, who hesitantly took them into his. The moment they connected an electric shock buzzed through Itachi's veins, before the tension in Sasuke's body was dispelled and he slumped back onto the bed. "What the hell?!!" He exclaimed. "I, I felt like I was burning alive…what was that? What did you do to me!!?" the last part was shouted, that didn't quite fit to the hurt look in Sasuke's eyes. "I, don't know…" Sasuke stared at him. "What do you mean, you don't know? You're the vampire here!" "That's never happened before…you should go now, I think, I don't know if I can control myself at the moment." Sasuke stared at him. "Why did you do that anyways?"

"I claimed you."

"You what? What's that?"

"Sasuke, go now…here." He threw the boy a pair of pants, the ones he'd been wearing the day before, to be precise. "Sasuke gave him a half disgusted, half confused look, but pulled on the trousers and walked to the door, he turned to look at Itachi one last time, then he walked out of the room. As soon as the door had closed, Itachi sank onto the ground and leaned against the bed post. _'Oh Shaitan, what have I done…'_

Hehehe, next time, Sasuke in the city for the first time…


	8. The Escape

Journey of the Heart

Creeps around corner with a white flag...I'm back?

Sorry for being gone for so long...and I really wanna thank all of you who've been reviewing this story even though it hasn't been updated for like a life time, I super happy that there are still people waiting for me to update, which I finaly did...so thanks guys (well prob. mostly gals) you persevered and made me get my ass in gear, so yeah...oh god I'm getting all emotional now...sob...

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto I'd probably have been brutally murdered by an angry mob for not getting on with the story by now, so I'll just shut up.

Also I wrote this in one day so it's sorta rough around the edges and it hasn't been proof read, but I wanted to get this up asap so forgive the partially bad and probably confused formulation please.

Last chapter:

_Sasuke just moaned louder. Itachi moved over to him, regarding the human worriedly._

"_Touch me, please!" Sasuke panted and lifted his hands to Itachi, who hesitantly took them into his. The moment they connected an electric shock buzzed through Itachi's veins, before the tension in Sasuke's body was dispelled and he slumped back onto the bed. "What the hell?!!" He exclaimed. "I, I felt like I was burning alive…what was that? What did you do to me!!?" the last part was shouted, that didn't quite fit to the hurt look in Sasuke's eyes. "I, don't know…" Sasuke stared at him. "What do you mean, you don't know? You're the vampire here!" "That's never happened before…you should go now, I think, I don't know if I can control myself at the moment." Sasuke stared at him. "Why did you do that anyways?"_

"_I claimed you."_

"_You what? What's that?"_

"_Sasuke, go now…here." He threw the boy a pair of pants, the ones he'd been wearing the day before, to be precise. "Sasuke gave him a half disgusted, half confused look, but pulled on the trousers and walked to the door, he turned to look at Itachi one last time, then he walked out of the room. As soon as the door had closed, Itachi sank onto the ground and leaned against the bed post. __'Oh Shaitan, what have I done…'_

* * *

Chapter 8- The Escape

* * *

Sasuke stood nervously with the other slaves at the castle gates. After he'd left Itachi's room he'd nearly run into a vampire lord who'd come for the party and stayed the night. But instead of attacking him like Sasuke thought he would the vampire stopped in his tracks stared at him for a moment with hungry eyes and then turned tail and fled. Sasuke had stood there dumfounded for an entire minute that he was still alive and untouched, before he remembered he was supposed to be heading for the main gate. The entire way he'd gotten strange looks from the vampiric residents of the castle, but not one of them tried to touch him in any way, it freaked the hell out of him. _'But at least they weren't trying to gang rape me in the hallway._' He'd made it to the gate unscathed and was delighted to find both Gaara and Neji were coming too. They were now standing to his right, discussing some secret agenda in hushed voices, sending him occasional glances and then giggling stupidly…Gaara giggling was a very scary sight, especially because it actually made him look sorta cute. "What the hells so funny huh?" Sasuke asked the two giggling boys. Neji looked at him opened his mouth as if to speak but started laughing again instead. Sasuke growled at them and glared. "Sorry, sorry, it's just, I mean." That was all Neji managed before falling back into giggles. Sasuke crossed his arms and waited. Neji took a deep breath and burst out: "Why are you wearing Itachi's clothes?!" A deadly silence followed as Sasuke's eyes bulged and his face went bright red at the same time. "I, I, that's…um…that's none of your business!" Sasuke brought out finally. Neji and Gaara just burst out laughing again. "And what's with those 'love bites', talk about being possessive!" Neji pointed at Sasuke's neck. Sasuke immediately clapped a hand over the marks, only to wince at the sting when the palm of his hand collided with the open wounds. "That stupid Itachi…" He mumbled face still burning from embarrassment. "Shaitan, I wish I could just die right now…" Neji took pity on him and clapped a hand on his back. "Hey, look at the bright side, your totally getting preferential treatment now lover boy!" Sasuke stared at him, "Lover boy?! I'm not his lover!" He nearly shouted. Neji just shook his head. "Come on Sasuke, just admit that you're in love with him. We were all wrong about him, ok. Accept it as fact and get on with it!" Sasuke gapped at Neji. "I, i ii, in lll love?!" He squeaked out the last word. But before he could deny it, someone pushed past him, ramming his elbow into Sasuke's ribs on the way. Sasuke jumped and glared after him, but decided it wasn't worth making a show of it and possibly not being able to go out. The boy stopped a few feet away, and turned to glare at Sasuke again. He was short and slender with big baby blue eyes curly blond hair, and white skin, but the sour look on his face, sort of ruined the angelic thing he had going. _'What's his problem?'_ Before Sasuke could contemplate further, Kakashi appeared, clapping his hands for order. "Everyone, quiet down! Now, this will be an orderly affair, I don't want to hear of any problems any of you caused, alright? You represent Lord Orochimaru and Lord Itachi, do not make them regret their choice of letting you out, believe me, you will never get the chance again."

Sasuke's thoughts wandered back to earlier that morning when Itachi had bitten him. The thought alone made his legs shake and his entire body burn with longing. _'What the hell did he do to me!? I can't believe he said he doesn't know!! I mean he's the vampire and stuff! But he did look really confused, and hot…!?...I did not just think that…nope…I didn't, ok, maybe I did. Moving on…WTF is going on? Itachi's been acting really strange since yesterday, I mean the whole bath scene was just plain weird, at least that what I can remember…and this morning when he…kissed me like that, so gently. Shaitan, why, why do I want him to do it again and never stop? _

…"Now please get into your groups, always stay together, especially the reds." Kakashi sent a stern glance in the blond boys direction. Sasuke blinked confusedly, '_Oops, drifted of there, what are reds?'_ He looked around sureptiously and noticed that everyone was wearing a colour-coded leather string around their neck. The blond boy and those standing around him all wore red. The largest amount of people wore blue, including Neji and Gaara. 5 had green and 3 had black. They were all standing in groups, though the greens and blues stood close together, the reds and the blacks stood with an obvious distance from the main group. Suddenly very nervous, finding himself not to be part of any of these groups, Sasuke started to fidgeted with the hem of Itachi's shirt, taking a small amount of comfort from the by now familiar smell. Making up his mind he made his way to the front of the crowd towards Kakashi. "Hey Kakashi! Why don't I have a colour band thingy? Did I miss something?" A wide grin spread over the overseers face as he looked down at the rude slave. "Why Sasuke-kun, your wearing yours already, any vampire could smell Itachi on you 10 miles down wind…But if you insist, Itachi did give me something just before he left…" Deigning to ignore the former comment, Sasuke watched expectantly as Kakashi rummaged through his pockets, but when he found the sought after item, Sasuke's expression changed to one of utter horror. "No fucking way am I wearing that!!" He shouted at Kakashi's amused face and made to turn and leave. But Kakashi was faster and threw the large silver dog collar around Sasuke's neck and closed the lock before the other could stop him. "Ah, it suits you wonderfully Sasuke-kun!" Kakashi grinned at the fuming slave evilly.. "I'm not a fucking dog!!! Why don't I just get a stupid leather thingy too?! This is so not fair!!!" If looks could kill Kakashi would have been a pile of ashes by then, judging by the level of intensity of Sasuke's glare.

"Well, your special Sasuke, your Itachi's exclusive property, so you get something better than an identification band. You're the only one in your category, so a band would be useless." Sasuke violently tugged at the large collar, but only succeeded in choking himself, so he gave up and contented himself with sending death glares at Kakashi, and mentally swearing at Itachi. He could have sworn to hear a surprised laugh from Itachi, but decided he must have made that up and swore at his over active imagination as well. By then everyone was staring at him with mixed reactions. Some were just plain staring, but the blacks were giving him pitying looks what really freaked Sasuke out, and the reds, especially the blond were glaring at him with loathing. Kakashi clapped his hands together recapturing the diverted attention. "Alright, now that everything is put in order lets get going." The group set into motion and they slowly left the castle behind them.

"I'm not Itachi's property, how often do I have to say that?" Sasuke mumbled belatedly. Neji just smirked beside him.

**

* * *

**

Outside the City gates

Naruto and Sakura stared up at the gigantic black gates and gulped. Naruto turned to Sakura with a determined gaze. "For Sasuke." She nodded. "For Sasuke." They pulled their capes tighter around themselves and marched through the gates into the capital.

**

* * *

**

In the city

Sasuke, Neji and Gaara had tagged along with some of their new friends after Kakashi had given each of them some spending money and telling them to return at 6 that evening. He hadn't said anything about escape attempts, because everyone knew it was useless. For some reason the thought didn't depress Sasuke as much as it was supposed to. Instead he enjoyed his new found freedom and laughed along with the others at Chouji's attempt to eat 3 burgers at once, which he somehow miraculously managed. Sasuke had never been inside a city before and he found that it was both terrifying and exciting at once. Everything was crowded and busy, people pushed and shouted and grabbed all at once. He even witnessed how a little boy snuck up to a wealthy looking vampire and stole his purse without the man even noticing he was there, that fascinated Sasuke to no end. But the greatest experience by far was that he didn't have to steal to get what he needed. He could buy what ever he wanted, and strangely enough didn't even have to do that for most of the time. For some reason people seemed to want to give him everything for free, some of them even bowed to him, which was sort of creepy, since he was only a slave. But the moment he stepped into a shop every vampiric head turned towards him, and soon after the human heads followed, fixing onto the silver collar. He scratched his neck absently, for some reason it had been tingling strangely since he'd left the castle, and the more time passed the worse it got. The scratching seemed to attract even more attention, because then people would stare at the still slightly bleeding bite would. So Sasuke tried to ignore the tingly feeling and take advantage of this strange respect he was getting. Most of the other slaves took it in stride and congratulated him on his new status, but a few sent him angry looks and separated from the group, once again making Sasuke wonder what the hell was going on that he didn't know about. The 14 people who were left in the end, decided to go to something they called karaoke and all mockingly bowed down and worshiped Sasuke for getting them in for free, since otherwise they would have had to hand over all of their combined money to do so.

3 hours later after leaving the karaoke bar, that Sasuke decided was the bane of his existence after Ino had forced him to sing a duet with her and having to listen to Kiba 'sing' for a solid 20 minutes. Sasuke followed the others through the still crowed street scratching his neck in annoyance, and watching people hurry past him. He was still amazed at how the humans and vampires lived together in one place like this . He had always thought that vampires were enslaving humans all over the world. But here everyone was the same. There were rich and poor humans and vampires alike, and they mixed in both statuses. Sasuke remembered seeing the little boy who'd robbed that rich looking vampire run back into an alleyway and pass out the money from the purse among a bunch of younger children who weren't distinguishable between human and vampire at all, until one of them opened his mouth to say something and Sasuke saw he had fangs. '_This city is so magical. No body cares if you're human or vampire. I mean, they still care about rank and social status and stuff, but you see vampires sucking up to richer humans just as much as other way around!! I mean just because I'm Itachi's slave they bowing down to me, that is seriously weird! I wonder why it's only me though, I mean the others belong to Itachi and Orochimaru as well…maybe it has something to do with that claiming thing Itachi did…' _Unconsciously Sasuke's hand went up to his neck and touched the place where Itachi's fangs had pierced his skin. It still hurt a bit, but more that anything the entire area around the bite marks tingled like hell. Not tickled exactly, but more like there were invisible ants running around on his skin. It had gotten worse throughout the day and the bite marks were still raw and open because he kept scratching them, which added pain to the unpleasant mix as well, which all in all made him rather pissed at Itachi for ruining his day out with that stupid bite. _'Claim my ass, he already said he owns me, so why would he have to claim me? That stupid idiot makes no sense at…' _

Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared at the pink haired head a few paces away. _'Sakura?!'_ In a daze Sasuke moved toward the pink haired girl, but a large group of people spilled out of an inn next to her and she disappeared in the crowd. Sasuke stopped and stared at the spot where he'd seen the pink hair. _'It couldn't have been her. What would Sakura be doing in the capital. I must be going crazy. What would I have done if it was her anyways? It's not like we can escape together or something. That would mean I'd have to leave Itachi, I can't do that…waaait, why would I not be able to do that? There's nothing holding me there, I've only known him for a few months, Sakura's been my friend my entire life! This is ridiculous, Itachi's been messing with my head way to much! Of course I'd run away if I had the chance!'_

Unbeknownst to him, the rest of the group had disappeared, not noticing the missing boy, while another group, all with red bands around their necks, snuck up behind Sasuke. Still lost in thought he didn't notice them until it was too late, and he'd been grabbed, pulled into a dark side alley and pushed against a dirty brick wall. (Don't we all love clichés!) Finally realizing what was going on, Sasuke began to struggle, but there were too many hands pinning him, leaving him helpless and a little scared. "What the hell?! What are you doing?" He shouted angrily at the curly hair blond who was standing in front of him. His face contorted into an ugly grimace as he glared at Sasuke and without warning he punched him in the face. Sasuke tasted blood, but the punch had been weak, only causing him to bite his tongue by accident. He snorted and spit out the blood in his mouth. The blond fumed. "Who do you think you are you bastard! Don't think you're anything special just because Itachi-sama is being a little nice to you! He's just playing with you, he'll get board soon and then you'll end up in the pleasure quarters just like the rest of us!" Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized what the red band represented. They were Itachi's pleasure slaves, his whores. Disgust and a strange angry feeling welled up in Sasuke as he thought of the foreign smell coming of Itachi the evening before. _'So that what it was. He was having fun with them, and then he dared come and sleep in my bed!...well it wasn't my bed, but still, that fucking bastard!'_ Irrational tears of anger and betrayal welled up in Sasuke's eyes. _'How could I have been stupid enough to think Itachi felt anything for me other than lust. I'm sure he did the same thing with every single one of these guys, that's why they hate me so much…_'

(Yeah I know, Sasuke isn't making any sense, but he's confused, hurt, and totally insecure, everybody thinks stupid things when their feeling like that!)

The blond grinned haughtily and crossed his arms together over his chest. "Itachi will get tired of you soon, like he got tired of every other toy he picked up, and then he'll come back to me, like he should."

Sasuke blinked confusedly at the blond.

"Yeah, 'Claiming' doesn't mean anything with a slave that only counts for mates!" Another boy shouted at Sasuke. _'Mates?! You do that claiming thing with your mate!!?? WTF is going on! Why would Itachi do that to me? I mean, isn't that sorta permanent? What will happen when he gets tired of me?... He'll probably kill me. This must be some sick joke to him. Make the stupid slave boy fall in love with him and then throw him away like trash…' _

The blond rounded on the one who'd spoken. "Shut up you idiot! This kid here is just for fun! He hasn't slept with him, so he's playing one of his games again! He did the same thing with that last kid who thought he was special." Sasuke's eyes widened, how the hell did this kid know Itachi hadn't touched him yet? _'But he's right, I mean, he could have, but he stopped, that means he doesn't really want me, right?' _Sasuke's emotions were in turmoil, he didn't even notice the tears running down his face. The blond turned to him again. "I bet he was real nice to you, gentle and all that. But he's a vampire, not a human, the only way to see if he really wants you, is if he fucks you. And he didn't, I can see it. Itachi doesn't want you. He's just playing with his food!" Sasuke stared at the blond blankly. The others words running through his head and kept repeating themselves over and over. _'Itachi doesn't want me. He doesn't want me. He doesn't want me…Oh Shaitan it hurts, it hurts so much, he doesn't want me, please make it stop!' _Sasuke didn't feel the punches and the kicks being thrown at him. He didn't notice them ripping at his clothes, screaming that after they were done with him, Itachi wouldn't ever look at him again. All he heard was that voice in his head repeating itself over and over and over. _'Itachi doesn't want you. Itachi doesn't want you, he doesn't want you, he doesn't want you…'_ Somewhere deep in his unconsciousness he wondered why he cared so much, wondered why, if what they were saying was true, they hated him so much, wondered whether what had happened last night and this morning could really have all been an act. But all of those rational thoughts were silenced by the overwhelming feeling of betrayal and utter loneliness. The feeling of completion he'd had while around Itachi was transformed into a wide gaping hole in his chest that seemed to be ripping him apart. Black started to eat at the sides of his vision, until he was falling into nothingness.

* * *

Flashback

"_Sa-Sasuke, I want you to listen to me very carefully, alright." A young boy with tears streaming down his face blinked down at his mother lying on the ash covered ground. "Mommy, it's happening, just like I saw it! Please, you can't go away! Don't leave me alone!" The woman smiled sadly and brushed away the tears from his cheek. "Sasuke, it is my time, but your father and I will always be with you. Do you remember what you told me about that vampire you always see? The one who makes you feel really happy?" The little boy nodded shakily, as his mother coughed feebly, causing a streak of blood to run out of her mouth, but she continued quickly, for fear of not being able to tell him what he needed to know. "He's your special person, like your father is for me. You have to go and find him Sasuke, he needs you, or else the bad men will take him too, do you understand?" Sasuke's eyes widened, and he bit back a whimper. "I don't want the bad men to take him!" _

"_Sasuke, soon your going to forget some things, you're going to think you're human for a while ok. You have to believe it, other wise they'll find you before your ready. That's why you have to forget Sasuke, forget what you learned, forget him, alright." She took Sasuke's hand into hers and kissed it lightly. "But mother, I don't want to forget him, he makes so happy, I can't forget him, I'll die if I forget him!" New tears ran down the young boys face as he stared down at his mother in denial. "It's just for a little while Sasuke, your heart won't forget him, just your head. You'll recognize him when the time comes…Sasuke promise me that you'll forget, you have to believe that you can forget, otherwise they'll take him away forever. Can you do that Sasuke?" Sasuke was still for a moment thinking over what his mother said. Then he quickly wiped away his tears and nodded. "Yes mother. I can forget him for a little while, but only a little while!" She smiled proudly at her son's bravery and with the last of her strength touched her hand to his forehead and spoke an ancient incantation. The little boy's eyes drooped and his body slowly became translucent, until he disappeared completely. Far away in another place he thought he heard his mother's voice. "I love you Sasuke, don't ever forget that."_

End Flashback

* * *

Sasuke awoke to someone shaking him and shouting his name. "Sasuke, Sasuke, wake up! Come on!" _'Itachi?'_ "Sasuke-teme! I know your in there, we gotta get outta here!" Sasuke painfully opened his eyes, groaning at the brightness, and the sudden pain that flooded his system, telling him that he really didn't want to move, he felt like someone had run him over with a 6 horse carriage. "Arg! Leave me alone you bastard!"

"Sasuke-kun! Oh, thank god, you're ok! We finally found you!" A familiar feminine voice gushed. "Yeah, just in time to save you from being beaten to a bloody pulp too! Haha, you've become a real softy since you got caught huh, baka!"

Sasuke could finally focus on the two faces looking down at him and a stab of disappointment ran through him. "Naruto and Sakura. What are you doing here?...Where's here?"

"Don't worry Sasuke-kun, your safe here. We have a plan how to get out of the city! Soon you'll be free again!"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, we took the liberty of getting rid of your ripped clothes and the collar you were wearing. Seriously, they must have treated you like a dog to make you wear something like that! And you weren't even wearing your hood! Hope you weren't gang raped or something!" Naruto's tone was joking, but he stared down at Sasuke with concern. "They didn't did they?" Sasuke sighed. "No, no one touched me, thanks to Itachi." Twin gasps made him blink up at his two friends confusedly. "What?"

"You were with that disgusting vampire lord?!" Naruto's voice sounded both shocked and repulsed at the same time. And for some reason it offended Sasuke. "Don't call him that! Itachi's, Itachi's…" Sasuke stopped. _'Itachi's what? He's a vampire lord who imprisoned you, played with you and abandoned you for some whore! Why am I defending him? Shaitan, I'm such an idiot.'_ Naruto and Sakura stared at Sasuke in shock. Why was he defending his capturer? Slowly Sasuke sat up and looked around. They were in a dark, room, filled with human shadows; it all seemed strangely familiar. "Where are we?" He asked his two companions suspiciously. "We're in a slave market warehouse." Naruto said sheepishly. Sasuke whipped around and gawked at Naruto in disbelief. "What?!"

"Don't get angry, this is our way out man! The vamp who's in charge here is a total drunkard, he didn't even realize he's suddenly got three extra slaves in here, meaning he isn't gonna miss us when we leave either! He's on his way out of the city, so as soon as he's gotten us out, we're gonna run for it!" Naruto explained happily. Sakura nodded in agreement. "We even got you a new hoodie, so don't worry about being attacked." She smiled at him happily and held out the dirty piece of clothing. Sasuke stared at it, the pain in his chest intensifying. _'Just for a moment I thought I would never have to hide again…how could I have been stupid enough to think I could be happy?' _A single tear ran down Sasuke's face as he reached for the hood and draped it over his head. He felt more imprisoned now, than he ever had while with Itachi. _'No, this is the way it's supposed to be. I hate vamps and they hate me. End of story.' _Sasuke nodded to himself and turned to Naruto and Sakura with a grim smile. "Let's do this!" The two of them beamed at him and Sakura hugged him tightly. "We missed you so much! I'm so glad your ok, Sasuke-kun." Naruto nodded and clapped him on the back. A sudden noise made them all jump and turn to the door, someone was coming. "Quick! We gotta get on the shackles!" Naruto whispered, grabbing the end of the chain that had been lying at his feet. To it he attached what looked like a foot shackle, and then snapped that around his left leg, the lock was suspiciously missing. Sakura and Sasuke quickly followed suite, Sasuke grabbing the foot lock Sakura handed him. Not a moment later the door opened and the first fat vampire Sasuke had ever seen wobbled through the door. Sasuke stared open mouthed at the strange creature with the red face and watery eyes. _'eww…gross.'_ "Alllrighd ya awful lodd! On yer feed! Cuum onn, geed moovin!" the fat vampire lolled, kicking the nearest boy in the stomach. The three companions rose with the other slaves and shuffled out of the warehouse and onto the street. They walked at the end of the line, Sasuke holding his breath all the while, terrified someone would recognize him. He scratched at his neck angrily, and felt warm liquid cover his fingers. He removed his hand from his neck and stared at the blood dripping of his fingers. _'Damn, I scratched it so hard my skin is coming off. But this is really starting to hurt, it's like someone is injecting poison into me through my neck. My whole body HURTS! And it's not because of those little bruises those sissies gave me…how did Naruto and Sakura get me away from them anyways, I can't remember anything.' _

They had reached the gates and then the next moment they were past them and out of the city. Agony enveloped Sasuke the minute he stepped through the gates, he stumbled and nearly fell, clawing at his chest as his heart was torn into pieces. _/…Remember…Sasuke, you must remember!.../_ Sasuke choked on his own moan, tearing his mouth wide open, gulping in air. _'Remember what!?' _"Oh Shaitan, what's happening to me?!" He groaned, an incredible pressure was pressing on his skull, he wasn't sure if it wanted in or out. "Sasuke?!" Naruto's voice brought him back to the present, the pain dissipating as quickly as it had come. He turned to Naruto, "What?" Naruto was looking at him with alarm, almost fear. "Sasuke, why were you swearing by Shaitan? He's the Vampire god, not ours." Naruto's voice was quiet and it shook a little when he said 'Shaitan'. Sasuke stared right back at him. "I did?" Naruto nodded once. Silence befell the trio as they trudged along with the slave caravan. "It, it must be because we weren't allowed to swear by God in the city, I had to make it automatic just in case, you know, to say Shaitan, instead…?" The other two nodded slowly, but they all knew that wasn't the real answer, but it was the only acceptable one. Sasuke's hands wouldn't stop shaking for the rest of the journey, nor did they stop when the caravan made camp for the night. _'Why do I feel like I'm walking in the wrong direction? Why do I feel more and more miserable to further I get from him? I should be happy, smug even I got away from that arrogant prick this smoothly. But all I can think about is that I want to be back in that bed like this morning and never ever get up.'_

* * *

"_Come on Sasuke, just admit that your in love with him." _

Neji's words echoed through Sasuke's head as he sat with Sakura at the edge of the camp, waiting for Naruto to return and give the 'coast clear' signal. "Hey Sakura, how do you know your in love?" He suddenly asked, without looking at her. The pink haired girl looked at him with a sad expression for a moment then answered. "Well, it's easy really. All those clichés about thinking about that person all the time, and about getting mad at them for stupid stuff, and hating them for _not_ hating them, and for being totally and utterly confused for most of the time, and of course wanting to be near them always, and having fun around them without realizing…you know…those clichés, their all true."

Sasuke was silent for a second. "Even if you want to kill them most of the time, and they drive you crazy, and their mean to you and do lots of really stupid stuff, and make _you_ do really stupid stuff, and then they betray you and it hurts, it hurts so bad…?" Tears ran down his face once more as he thought of the blond boys smell all over Itachi. He looked up at Sakura and jumped when he saw tears running down her face too. "Why are you crying?!" He asked worriedly, reaching out to hold her hand in his. Sakura gave him a wobbly smile and squeezed his hand. "It's nothing Sasuke, it's nothing." Sasuke looked her in the eyes for a moment longer before lowering his gaze back to the floor. Sakura watched him sadly, and knew that he was no longer the Sasuke they knew. _'He's found the place where he belongs, and we took him away from it. Oh Sasuke, why did it have to be a vampire? Couldn't you fall in love with me? I've loved you for so long, but you never noticed, and now someone's taken you away before I even had a chance…' _She sniffed quietly and held onto Sasuke's hand more tightly, as if afraid he might disappear if she let go. Meanwhile Sasuke had come to the conclusion that Neji just might be slightly, just a tiny little bit right. But before that thought could solidify Naruto appeared out of the shadows and silently beckoned for them to follow. Sakura quickly let go of his hand and they rose and ran after Naruto into the woods. _'He's grown up a lot since I left…'_ thought Sasuke as he ran into the woods after his life time friend.

They'd run for nearly 20 minutes when they heard the first scream from the direction of the camp. The three of them froze and looked back into the direction they had come, what happened? Had someone noticed they were gone? _'No, they didn't, it would sound different.'_ That was when Sasuke noticed what _was_ gone. _'My neck doesn't hurt. It doesn't even tingle like it did this morning…but I thought that was happening because I was getting further away from Itachi. It should be worse now, not…gone!'_ An ear-piercing howl made Sasuke yelp in surprise, the sound sending goose bumps up and down his spine, then he knew why the tingling was gone. Naruto and Sakura crowded close to Sasuke and stared into the direction the terrifying sound had come from. "He's here." Sasuke wasn't sure if he was laughing or screaming, but either way it scared the two teens beside him, because they both jumped and stared at him instead. "Who's here, Sasuke?" Naruto's voice quavered. Sasuke smiled a morbid smile. "Itachi." _'He came for me.'_

"We gotta get as far away from the camp as possible. Whatever he's doing out here can't be good!" Naruto's said quietly, as if fearing the vampire might hear him. Sakura gazed at Sasuke, then turned back to Naruto and nodded. Sasuke couldn't possible be happy with that monster, it might hurt him to make him leave, but sometimes you had to be cruel to be kind. She took hold of Sasuke's arm and dragged him along after Naruto, who had started running again.

Sasuke could feel Itachi coming closer and absently he wondered why the others thought they could out run the vampire. Then again, they didn't know he was chasing them either. Sasuke could physically feel Itachi's anger, it suffocated him and pushed on him from all sides. But never in his life had Sasuke been so happy about pain. He welcomed it with all his heart, beckoning, calling it to follow. And then he was there, Sasuke hear to beat of his wings above them, as did Naruto and Sakura, who both stopped abruptly. Naruto tried to turn around and run in the other direction, but it was to late. Itachi landed right in front of them in all his glory, glossy black wings, glowing red eyes and all. Sasuke half expected him to rip all of them to shreds. But the vampire didn't move, the anger fled from his face as he watched Sasuke, leaving behind only a terrible sadness in his eyes, that made Sasuke want to hug him and make it all go away, like his mother had done for him a long time ago, when he had his visions.

Startled Sasuke straightened. _'Visions? I never had any visions. Did I?'_

He turned his gaze back to Itachi and squinted at his figure in the darkness.

…_a shadow, an outline a creature, just black gleaming eyes visible, burning houses, he recognized his mother screaming. Then a castle built from obsidian, an older version of himself with a red eyed man, a man with fangs, long black purple hair, and great wings, a vampire, his red eyes seemed to burn, right through Sasuke's soul…_

The vision grabbed hold of Sasuke and left him weak kneed, holding onto Sakura for support. It felt as if a chain he didn't know was there, had suddenly been loosened, and the memory of his mother's last words returned to him, the memory of his vision of his special person. _'I love him.'_ Those three simple words filled Sasuke's mind with a glowing warmth of realization, the hole in his chest seemed to fill once again with a strong beat, that pulsed though his body, putting all of his nerves on fire, filling ever pore of his being.

"Sasuke?" Sakura's voice pierced through the ecstatic fog around his brain, and he turned to look at the girl who had been his companion and friend, taken the role of both mother and sister for so many years. "Are you going to leave us again?" Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper, but it hit Sasuke like a wall of bricks. _'I can't abandon them. Not ever, we swore we'd stay together forever, no matter what! It was always us against the world, and we always pulled through. We fought together and laughed and cried together, we helped each other get over the deaths of our families, and we made a new one. Their my family, the only one I have left…'_

Sasuke slowly opened his mouth and stared at the ground in front of his feet.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

Yup I'm ending it here. I thought you guys deserved a cliffy after such a long wait right ^.^ Oh I'm sooooo eeevil!! Mwahahahahahaaaaarr!!

Wonder who Sasuke's gonna choose, ne.

Well R&R I promise I'll update quicker, I've already written the first part of the next chappy, so you'll just have to persuade me to write the rest of it!!


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